oV 


1876  1896 


TWENTY  YEARS 


OF  THE 


E/tlaical    JVlovement 


IN 


NEW  YORK  AND  OTHER  CITIES. 


PHII.ADRI.PHI A  : 

S.  BURNS  WESTON,  1305  Arch  Street. 
1896. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

ADDRESS  OF  MAY  15,   1876,  by  FELIX  ADLER   ....  i 

TWENTIETH  ANNIVERSARY   OF  THE   NEW  YORK 
ETHICAL  SOCIETY,  MAY  15,   1896: 

ADDRESS  BY  ALFRED  R.  WOLFF 17 

ADDRESS  BY  WM.  M.  SALTER 22 

ADDRESS  BY  M.  M.  MANGASARIAN 25 

ADDRESS  BY  FELIX  ADLER 26 

HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  ETHICAL  SOCIETIES  : 

THE  NEW  YORK  ETHICAL  SOCIETY 35 

THE  CHICAGO  ETHICAL  SOCIETY 42 

THE  PHILADELPHIA  ETHICAL  SOCIETY 45 

THE  ST.  Louis  ETHICAL  SOCIETY 49 

THE  ETHICAL  MOVEMENT  IN  GERMANY,  AUSTRIA  AND 

SWITZERLAND 53 

APPENDIX : 

THE   CONGRESS  OF  AMERICAN  AND   EUROPEAN   ETH- 
ICAL SOCIETIES  AT  ZURICH,  by  FELIX  ADLER,  .     .  55 


PRINTED  BY  INNE8  &  SON,  PHILADELPHIA 


ADDRESS  OF   MAY   ISTH,  1876. 

At  Standard  Hall,  New  York.* 
BY    FELIX    ADLER. 

FOR  a  long  time  the  conviction  has  been  dimly  felt 
in  the  community  that,  without  prejudice  to  existing 
institutions,  the  legal  day  of  weekly  rest  might  be 
employed  to  advantage  for  purposes  affecting  the  general 
good.  During  the  past  few  years  this  conviction  has 
steadily  gained  in  force  and  urgency,  until  lately  a 
number  of  gentlemen  have  been  impelled  to  give  it 
shape  and  practical  effect. 

Conceiving  that  in  so  laudable  an  enterprise  they  may 
justly  hope  for  the  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  the 
friends  of  progress,  they  have  invited  you  to  join  in  their 
deliberations  this  evening,  and  upon  me  devolves  the 
task  of  stating,  as  frankly  and  plainly  as  may  be,  the 
end  we  have  in  view  and  the  means  by  which  its 
achievement  will  be  attempted.  At  such  a  time,  when 
we  are  about  to  set  forth  on  a  path  hitherto  untried  and 
likely  to  lead  our  lives  in  a  new  direction,  it  appears 
eminently  desirable  and  proper  that  we  should,  in  the 
first  place,  briefly  review  the  public  and  private  life  of 
the  day,  in  order  to  determine  whether  the  essential 
elements  that  make  up  the  happiness  of  states  and  indi- 

*  Given  at  the  meeting  called  to  organize  the  first  Society  for  Ethical 
Culture. 

(I) 


2  ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

viduals  are  all  duly  provided,  and  if  not,  where  the  need 
lies  and  how  it  can  best  be  supplied. 

On  the  face  of  it,  our  age  exhibits  certain  distinct 
traits  in  which  it  excels  all  of  its  predecessors.  Eulogies 
on  the  nineteenth  century  are  familiar  to  our  ears,  and 
orators  delight  to  descant  upon  all  the  glorious  things 
which  it  has  achieved.  Its  railways,  its  printing  presses, 
its  increased  comforts  and  refined  luxuries — all  these 
are  undeniable  facts,  and  yet  it  is  true  none  the  less,  that 
great  and  unexpected  evils  have  followed  in  the  train  of 
our  successes,  and  that  the  moral  improvement  of  nations 
and  their  individual  components  has  not  kept  pace  with 
the  march  of  intellect  and  the  advance  of  industry. 
Before  the  assaults  of  criticism  many  ancient  strong- 
holds of  faith  have  given  way,  and  doubt  is  fast  spread- 
ing even  into  circles  where  its  expression  is  forbidden. 
Morality,  long  accustomed  to  the  watchful  tutelage  of 
faith,  finds  this  connection  loosened  or  severed,  while  no 
new  protector  has  arisen  to  champion  her  rights,  no 
new  instruments  been  created  to  enforce  her  lessons 
among  the  people.  As  a  consequence  we  behold  a 
general  laxness  in  regard  to  obligations  the  most  sacred 
and  dear.  An  anxious  unrest,  a  fierce  craving  desire 
for  gain  has  taken  possession  of  the  commercial  world, 
and  in  instances  no  longer  rare  the  most  precious  and 
permanent  goods  of  human  life  have  been  madly  sacri- 
ficed in  the  interests  of  momentary  enrichment. 

Far  be  it  from  me,  indeed,  to  disparage  the  import- 
ance of  commerce  or  to  slight  its  just  claims  as  an 
agent  in  the  service  of  humanity.  In  a  country  of  such 
recent  civilization  as  ours,  whose  almost  limitless  treas- 
ures of  material  wealth  invite  the  risks  of  capital  and 


ADDRESS    OF    MAY    I5TH,     1876.  3 

the  industry  of  labor,  it  is  but  natural  that  material  inter- 
ests should  absorb  the  attention  of  the  people  to  a  degree 
elsewhere  unknown.  But  all  the  more  on  this  account 
it  is  necessary  to  provide  a  powerful  check  and  counter- 
poise, lest  the  pursuit  of  gain  be  enhanced  to  an  import- 
ance never  rightfully  its  own,  lest,  in  proportion  as  we 
enhance  our  comfort  and  well-being,  comfort  and  well- 
being  become  the  main  objects  of  existence,  and  life's 
grander  motives  and  meanings  be  forgotten.  We  have 
already  transgressed  the  limit  of  safety,  and  the  present 
disorders  of  our  time  are  but  precursors  of  other  and 
imminent  dangers.  The  rudder  of  our  ship  has  ceased 
to  move  obedient  to  the  helm.  We  are  drifting  on  the 
seething  tide  of  business,  each  one  absorbed  in  holding 
his  own  in  the  giddy  race  of  competition,  each  one 
engrossed  in  immediate  cares  and  seldom  disturbed  by 
thoughts  of  larger  concerns  and  ampler  interests.  Even 
our  domestic  life  has  lost  much  of  its  former  warmth 
and  geniality.  The  happy  spirits  of  unaffected  content 
and  simple  endearment  are  sadly  leaving  our  low-burnt 
hearth-fires.  Fagged  and  careworn  the  merchant  re- 
turns to  his  home  in  the  evening.  He  finds  his  children 
weary.  His  own  mind  is  distracted.  In  these  troub- 
lous times  business  cares  not  unfrequently  dog  him  even 
into  the  seclusion  of  the  family  circle.  How,  then,  is  he 
to  discover  that  tranquil  leisure,  that  serenity  of  soul 
which  he  needs  to  be  a  true  father  to  his  little  ones. 
He  cannot  form  their  characters  ;  he  cannot  justly  esti- 
mate their  needs.  Perforce  he  leaves  their  education  in 
part  to  the  wife — and  modern  wives  have  their  own 
troubles  and  are  often  but  little  fitted  to  undertake  so 
arduous  a  task — in  part  he  must  abandon  it  to  strangers. 


4  ADDRESS    OF  MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  modern  world  is  divided 
between  the  hot  and  hasty  pursuit  of  affairs  in  the  hours 
of  labor,  and  the  no  less  eager  chase  of  pleasure  in  the 
hours  of  leisure.  But  even  our  pleasures  are  calculated 
and  business  like.  We  measure  our  enjoyments  by  the 
sum  expended.  Our  salons  are  often  little  better  than 
bazars  of  fashion.  We  wander  about  festive  halls,  chew- 
ing artificial  phrases  which  we  neither  believe  nor  desire 
to  be  believed.  We  breathe  a  stale  and  insipid  perfume 
from  which  the  spirit  of  joy  has  fled.  The  brief  ex- 
hilaration of  the  dance,  the  physical  stimulus  of  wine 
and  of  food,  the  nervous  excitement  of  a  game  of  hazard, 
perhaps  these  make  up  the  sum  total  of  enjoyment  in 
by  far  the  majority  of  our  so-called  parties  of  pleasure. 
Surely,  of  all  things  melancholy  in  American  life,  Amer- 
ican mirth  is  the  most  melancholy !  And  were  it  not 
for  Music — that  divine  comforter  which  sometimes  wins 
us  to  higher  flights  of  emotion  and  speaks  in  its  own 
wordless  language  of  an  ideal  beauty  and  harmony  far 
transcending  the  prosy  aspirations  to  which  we  confess — 
our  life  would  be  utterly  blank  and  colorless.  We 
should  be  like  the  bees  that  build,  they  know  not  why, 
and  hive  honey  whose  sweetness  they  never  enjoy. 
There  is  a  great  and  crying  evil  in  modern  society.  It 
is  want  of  purpose  It  is  that  narrowness  of  vision 
which  shuts  out  the  wider  vistas  of  the  soul.  It  is  the 
absence  of  those  sublime  emotions  which,  wherever  they 
arise,  do  not  fail  to  exalt  and  consecrate  existence. 
True,  the  void  and  hollowness  of  which  we  speak  is 
covered  over  by  a  fair  exterior.  Men  distil  a  subtle 
sort  of  intoxication  from  the  ceaseless  flow  and  shifting 
changes  of  affairs,  and  the  deeper  they  quaff  the  more 


ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,     1 876.  5 

potent  for  awhile  is  the  efficacy  of  the  charm.  But 
there  comes  a  time  of  rude  awakening.  A  great  crisis 
sweeps  over  the  land.  The  sinews  of  trade  are  relaxed, 
the  springs  of  wealth  are  sealed.  Old  houses,  whose 
foundations  seemed  as  lasting  as  the  hills,  give  way 
before  the  storm.  Reverse  follows  reverse.  The  man 
whose  energies  were  hitherto  expended  in  the  accumu- 
lation of  wealth  finds  himself  ruined  by  the  wayside. 
His  business  has  proved  a  failure.  Is  his  life,  too,  there- 
fore a  failure  ?  Is  there  no  other  object  for  which  he  can 
still  live  and  labor?  Nor  need  we  turn  to  such  seasons 
of  unusual  disaster  in  order  to  exhibit  the  instability 
and  insufficiency  of  the  common  motives  of  life.  There 
are  accidents  to  which  we  all  are  alike  exposed  and 
which  none,  however  favored  by  fortune,  can  hope  to 
avoid.  A  blight  comes  upon  our  affections.  The  dearest 
objects  of  our  solicitude  are  taken  from  us.  Our  home 
is  darkened  with  the  deep  darkness  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  In  such  hours,  what  is  to  keep  our  heart  from 
freezing  in  chill  despair,  to  keep  our  head  high  and  our 
step  firm,  if  it  be  not  the  deep-seated,  long  and  carefully 
matured  conviction,  that  man  was  set  into  the  world  to 
perform  a  great  and  unselfish  work,  independent  of  his 
comfort,  independent  even  of  his  happiness,  and  that  in 
its  performance  alone  he  can  find  his  true  solace,  his 
lasting  reward  ?  To  arouse  such  courage,  to  build  up 
and  buttress  such  a  conviction,  would  not  this  be  a 
loyal  and  much-needed  service  ? 

Where  the  roots  of  private  virtue  are  diseased,  the 
fruit  of  public  probity  cannot  but  be  corrupt. 

When  on  the  3Oth  of  April,  1789,  General  Washing- 
ton was  for  the  first  time  inducted  into  the  presidential 


6  ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

office  in  this  city  of  New  York,  he  declared  that  "the 
national  policy  would  be  laid  in  the  pure  and  immutable 
principles  of  private  morality."  And  he  appealed  to 
the  wisdom  and  integrity  of  those  first  legislators  whom 
the  country  had  chosen  under  its  new  constitution,  as  a 
pledge  and  safeguard  of  the  Republic's  future  welfare. 
Could  he  return  to  us  now  in  this  season  of  jubilation, 
how  sadly  altered  would  he  find  the  condition  of  our 
affairs  !  There  is  not  a  morning's  journal  that  reaches 
us  that  is  not  besmirched  with  tales  of  theft  and  per- 
jury. The  very  names  that  ought  to  be  held  up  as  lumi- 
naries of  honor  have  become  bywords  of  villany,  and 
the  foul  stench  of  corruption  fills  our  public  offices. 
See  how  the  Nation,  in  this  the  festal  epoch  of  her  mar- 
riage to  Liberty,  stands  blackened  with  the  crimes  of 
her  first  dignitaries,  and  hides  her  head  in  shame  before 
the  nations  !  And  for  what  have  these  miserable  men 
bartered  away  their  honor  and  that  of  the  people  ?  For 
the  same  unhallowed  und  unreasoning  desire  of  rapid 
gain  which  has  brought  such  heavy  disaster  upon  the 
commercial  world  :  to  support  the  extravagance  of  their 
households ;  to  deepen,  perhaps,  the  potations  of  a 
carousal !  Statesmen  and  philanthropists  are  busy  sug- 
gesting remedies  for  the  cure  of  these  great  evils.  But 
the  renovation  of  our  Civil  Service,  the  reform  of  our 
Primaries,  and  whatever  other  measures  may  be  devised, 
they  all  depend  in  the  last  instance  upon  the  fidelity  of 
those  to  whom  their  execution  must  be  intrusted.  They 
will  all  fail  unless  the  root  of  the  evil  be  attacked,  unless 
the  conscience  of  men  be  aroused,  the  confusion  of  right 
and  wrong  checked,  and  the  loftier  purposes  of  our 


ADDRESS     OF    MAY    I5TH,     1876.  7 

being  again  brought  powerfully  home  to  the  hearts  of 
the  people. 

I  have  spoken  of  our  private  needs  and  of  the  larger 
claims  of  the  public  well-being.  But  another  question 
now  presents  itself,  fraught  with  deeper  and  tenderer 
meanings  even  than  these.  The  children,  the  heirs  of 
all  the  great  future,  what  shall  we  do  for  them  ?  Into 
this  world  of  sinfulness  and  sorrow,  with  its  thousand- 
fold snares  and  sore  temptations,  shall  we  let  their  white 
souls  go  forth  without  even  an  effort  to  keep  them  stain- 
less ?  Do  you  not  struggle  and  toil  and  trouble,  that 
you  may  leave  them,  when  you  die,  some  little  store  of 
earthly  goods,  something  to  make  their  life  easier,  per- 
haps, than  yours  has  been — that  you  may  turn  to  your 
long  sleep,  knowing  that  your  children  shall  not  want 
bread  ?  And  for  that  which  is  far  more  precious  than 
bread  shall  we  make  no  provision  ?  When  your  bodies 
have  long  been  mouldering  in  the  grave,  they  will  live, 
men  and  women,  fighting  the  world's  battles  and  bearing 
the  world's  burdens  like  yourselves.  Would  you  not 
feel  the  benign  assurance  that  they  will  be  true  men  and 
noble  women  ?  that  the  fair  name  which  you  transmit  to 
them  will  ever  be  clean  in  their  keeping  ?  that  they  will 
be  strong  even  in  adversity,  because  they  believe  in  the 
destiny  of  mankind  and  in  the  dignity  of  man  ?  And 
what  efforts  do  we  make  to  attain  this  end  ?  We  teach 
them  to  repeat  some  scattered  verses  of  the  Bible,  some 
doctrine  which  at  their  time  of  life  they  can  but  half 
comprehend  at  best ;  and  then,  at  thirteen  or  fourteen, 
at  the  very  age  when  doubt  begins  to  arise  in  the  young 
heart,  when  in  its  inefficient  gropings  towards  the  light, 
youth  stands  most  in  need  of  friendly  help  and  counsel 


ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

we  send  them  out  to  shift  for  themselves.  Is  it  with 
such  an  armor  that  we  can  equip  them  for  the  hard  hand- 
to-hand  fight  of  after-life  ?  Or  do  you  conceive  a  magic 
charm,  a  talismanic  power  to  guard  from  evil,  to  reside 
in  these  empty  words  which  you  teach  your  children's 
lips  to  spell  ? 

Already  complaints  are  multiplying  on  every  hand 
that  that  most  gracious  quality  of  all  that  adorns  the 
age  of  childhood — the  quality  of  reverence — is  fast 
fading  from  our  schools  and  households ;  that  the  old- 
time  respect  for  father  and  mother  is  diminished,  and 
grown  rarer  and  more  uncertain.  Twenty  years  ago, 
what  high  prophecies  did  we  not  hear  of  the  future  of 
the  generation  then  growing  up !  What  inspiriting 
promises  of  the  full  bloom  into  which  the  still  closed 
petals  of  their  life  would  one  day  open  !  Have  the 
young  men  of  the  present  day  fulfilled  these  pledges  ? 
Has  the  passive  reverence  of  the  child  developed  into 
the  active  aspiration  of  the  man  ?  Do  you  find  them  in 
the  higher  walks  of  their  professions — I  say  take  them 
as  a  whole,  and  set  aside  a  few  brilliant  exceptions — 
have  they  illustrated  the  sterling  qualities  of  the  race 
they  sprang  from,  the  dearer  virtues  of  our  common 
humanity  ?  We  have  sown  the  seeds  of  long  neglect. 
We  are  but  reaping  the  bitter  Sodom  fruit  of  dead  hopes 
and  fair  promises  turned  to  ashes.  And  now  I  need  not 
appeal  to  your  business  instincts  to  show  that  any 
change,  if  it  is  to  come — and  a  change  must  come — can 
be  brought  about  only,  first,  by  united  effort ;  secondly, 
by  applying  that  great  principle  which  has  been  the 
secret  of  the  enormous  progress  of  industry  and  com- 


ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876.  9 

merce  in  the  past  century — the  salutary  principle  of 
division  of  labor. 

You  do  not  build  your  own  houses,  nor  make  your 
own  garments,  nor  bake  your  own  bread,  simply  because 
you  know  that  if  you  were  to  attempt  all  these  things 
they  would  all  be  more  or  less  ill  done.  But  you  go  to 
the  builder  to  build  your  house,  to  the  baker  to  bake 
your  bread,  because  you  know  that  in  limitation  there  is 
power,  that  limitation  and  combination  are  the  essentials 
of  success.  On  this  account  you  limit  your  own  ener- 
gies to  some  one  of  the  many  callings  which  society  has 
marked  out,  and  by  combination  with  your  fellows,  are 
certain  that  in  proportion  as  your  own  part  is  well  per- 
formed, you  may  command  the  best  services  in  every 
department  in  exchange  for  what  you  offer.  What  is 
true  of  material  wants  is  also  pertinent  in  the  case  of 
intellectual  needs.  If  you  desire  information  on  some 
point  of  law,  you  are  not  likely  to  ponder  over  the  pon- 
derous tomes  of  legal  writers  in  order  to  obtain  the 
knowledge  you  seek,  by  your  own  unaided  efforts.  But 
you  apply  to  some  one  in  the  profession  in  whose  abili- 
ties you  see  reason  to  confide.  The  same  holds  good  in 
every  department  of  knowledge.  In  every  case  you 
turn  to  the  specialist,  trusting  that,  if  from  any  source  at 
all,  you  will  obtain  from  him  the  best  of  what  you  need. 
Nor  is  it  otherwise  in  education.  For  though  you  pos- 
sess a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  branches  taught  in 
our  schools,  yet  you  are  well  aware  that  it  is  one  thing 
to  know,  and  quite  another  to  impart  knowledge.  And 
so  again  you  step  aside  in  your  own  persons  to  intrust 
the  office  of  training  your  children  in  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences to  an  instructor,  to  a  specialist.  And  if  all  this 


10  ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

be  true,  then  it  follows  that,  if  the  moral  elevation  of 
ourselves,  the  moral  training  of  our  children,  be  also  an 
object  worth  achieving,  ay,  if  it  be  the  highest  object  of 
our  life  on  earth,  then  we  dare  not  trust  for  its  accom- 
plishment to  the  sparse  and  meager  hours  which  the 
busy  world  leaves  us.  Then,  here  as  elsewhere,  society 
must  set  apart  some  who  shall  be  specialists  in  this,  who 
shall  throw  all  the  energy  of  temper,  all  the  ardor  of 
aspiration,  all  the  force  of  heart  and  intellect,  into  this 
difficult  but  ever  glorious  work. 

The  past  speaks  to  us  in  a-  thousand  voices,  warning 
and  comforting,  animating  and  stirring  to  action.  What 
its  great  thinkers  have  thought  and  written  on  the  deep- 
est problems  of  life,  shall  we  not  hear  and  enjoy?  The 
future  calls  upon  us  to  prepare  its  way.  Dare  we  fail 
to  answer  its  solemn  summons  ? 

And  now  for  all  these  purposes  we  propose  to  unite 
our  efforts  in  association,  and  to  set  apart  one  day  of 
the  seven  as  a  day  of  weekly  reunion, — a  day  of  ease, 
that  shall  come  to  repair  the  wasted  energies  of  body 
and  mind,  and  whereon,  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect 
tranquillity,  the  finer  relations  of  our  being  may  find 
time  to  acquaint  us  with  their  sweet  and  friendly  influ- 
ences. What  that  day  shall  be  it  is  not  for  us  to  deter- 
mine. The  usages  of  American  society  have  long  since 
settled  that  practically  it  is,  and  for  the  present  at  least 
can  be,  only  the  Sunday.  This  is  the  sole  day  of  respite 
whereon  the  great  machine  of  business  pauses  in  its 
operations,  and  leaves  you  to  direct  your  thoughts  to 
other  than  immediate  cares.  In  the  ancient  synagogue 
the  Monday  and  Thursday,  in  the  early  church  the 
Wednesday  and  Friday,  were  set  apart  for  purposes  of 


ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876.  II 

higher  instruction,  over  and  above  the  stated  Sabbath 
meetings.  If  the  Monday,  the  Thursday,  the  Wednes- 
day, or  the  Friday  had  in  our  community  been  elimi- 
inated  from  the  week  of  labor,  we  should  accept  any 
one  of  them  with  the  same  willingness.  The  name  of 
the  day  is  immaterial.  It  is  the  opportunity  it  offers 
with  which  alone  we  are  here  concerned.  And  how 
others  see  fit  to  spend  the  day  is  foreign  to  our  consid- 
eration, and  whatever  mischievous  construction  may  be 
placed  upon  our  work  will  quickly  be  dispelled,  depend 
upon  it,  by  the  character  and  testimony  of  the  work 
itself.  The  young  men,  at  all  events,  can  desist  from 
labor  upon  no  other  day  than  the  Sunday.  Heads  of 
firms  may,  if  they  see  fit,  incur  the  risk  of  taking  an 
exceptional  position  in  the  business  community  ;  but  the 
young  men,  who  depend  upon  others  for  patronage  and 
employment,  cannot  in  this  matter  select  their  own 
course,  and  if  they  attempt  it  will  be  met  by  innumer- 
able and  insuperable  obstacles  at  every  step.  But  it  has 
been  urged  by  some  that  the  Sunday  should  be  devoted 
to  the  intimate  intercourse  of  the  domestic  circle,  from 
which  our  merchants  are  so  often  debarred  at  other 
times.  This  is  an  honorable  motive,  surely,  which  we 
are  bound  to  respect.  But  is  it,  indeed,  believed  that  a 
single  hour  spent  in  serious  contemplation  will  at  all 
unduly  infringe  upon  the  time  proper  to  the  home  circle  ? 
Rather  will  it  give  a  higher  tone  to  all  our  occupations, 
and  lend  a  newer  and  fresher  zest  even  to  those  enjoy- 
ments which  we  need  and  seek. 

The  exercises  of  our  meetings  are  to  be  simple  and 
devoid  of  all  ceremonial  and  formalism.  They  are  to 
consist  of  a  lecture  mainly,  and,  as  a  pleasing  and  grate- 


12  ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

ful  auxiliary,  of  music  to  elevate  the  heart  and  give  rest 
to  the  feelings.  The  object  of  the  lectures  shall  be 
twofold  :  First,  to  illustrate  the  history  of  human  aspi- 
rations, its  monitions  and  its  examples  ;  to  trace  the 
origin  of  many  of  those  errors  of  the  past  whose 
poisonous  tendrils  still  cling  to  the  life  of  the  present, 
but  also  to  exhibit  its  pure  and  bright  examples,  and  so 
to  enrich  the  little  sphere  of  our  earthly  existence  by  show- 
ing the  grander  connections  in  which  it  everywhere  stands 
with  the  large  life  of  the  race.  For,  as  the  taste  is  refined 
in  viewing  some  work  of  ideal  beauty — some  statue  vivid 
with  divine  suggestion,  some  painting  glowing  with  the 
painter's  genius — so  in  the  contemplation  of  large 
thoughts  do  we  ourselves  enlarge,  and  the  soul  for  a 
time  takes  on  the  grandeur  and  excellency  of  whatever 
it  truly  admires.  Secondly,  it  will  be  the  object  of  the 
lecturers  to  set  forth  a  standard  of  duty,  to  discuss  our 
practical  duties  in  the  practical  present,  to  make  clear 
the  responsibilities  which  our  nature  as  moral  beings 
imposes  upon  us  in  view  of  the  political  and  social  evils 
of  our  age,  and  also  to  dwell  upon  those  high  and  tender 
consolations  which  the  modern  view  of  life  does  not  fail 
to  offer  us  even  in  the  midst  of  anguish  and  affliction. 
Do  not  fear,  friends,  that  a  priestly  office  after  a  new 
fashion  will  be  thus  introduced.  The  office  of  the  public 
teacher  is  an  unenviable  and  thankless  one.  Few  are 
there  that  will  leave  the  secure  seclusion  of  the  scholar's 
life,  the  peaceful  walks  of  literature  and  learning,  to 
stand  out  a  target  for  the  criticism  of  unkind  and  hostile 
minds.  Moreover,  the  lecturer  is  but  an  instrument  in 
your  hands.  It  is  not  to  him  you  listen,  but  to  those 
countless  others  that  speak  to  you  through  him  in 


ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876.  13 

strange  tongues,  of  which  he  is  no  more  than  the 
humble  interpreter.  And  what  he  fails  to  express, 
what  no  language  that  was  ever  spoken  on  earth  can 
express — those  nameless  yearnings  of  the  soul  for  some- 
thing better  and  happier  far  than  aught  we  know  of — 
Music  will  give  them  utterance  and  solve  and  soothe 
them. 

We  propose  to  entirely  exclude  prayer  and  every  form 
of  ritual.  Thus  shall  we  avoid  even  the  appearance  of 
interfering  with  those  to  whom  prayer  and  ritual,  as  a 
mode  of  expressing  religious  sentiment,  are  dear.  And 
on  the  other  hand  we  shall  be  just  to  those  who  have 
ceased  to  regard  them  as  satisfactory  and  dispensed 
with  them  in  their  own  persons.  Freely  do  I  own  to 
this  purpose  of  reconciliation,  and  candidly  do  I  confess 
that  it  is  my  dearest  object  to  exalt  the  present  move- 
ment above  the  strife  of  contending  sects  and  parties, 
and  at  once  to  occupy  that  common  ground  where  we 
may  all  meet,  believers  and  unbelievers,  for  purposes  in 
themselves  lofty  and  unquestioned  by  any.  Surely  it  is 
time  that  a  beginning  were  made  in  this  direction.  For 
more  than  three  thousand  years  men  have  quarrelled 
concerning  the  formulas  of  their  faith.  The  earth  has 
been  drenched  with  blood  shed  in  this  cause,  the  face 
of  day  darkened  with  the  blackness  of  the  crimes  per- 
petrated in  its  name.  There  have  been  no  direr  wars 
than  religious  wars,  no  bitterer  hates  than  religious 
hates,  no  fiendish  cruelty  like  religious  cruelty ;  no 
baser  baseness  than  religious  baseness.  It  has  destroyed 
the  peace  of  families,  turned  the  father  against  the  son, 
the  brother  against  the  brother.  And  for  what  ?  Are 
we  any  nearer  to  unanimity  ?  On  the  contrary,  diver- 


14  ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

sity  within  the  churches  and  without  has  never  been  so 
widespread  as  at  present.  Sects  and  factions  are  multi- 
plying on  every  hand,  and  every  new  schism  is  but  the 
parent  of  a  dozen  others.  And  it  must  be  so.  Let  us 
make  up  our  minds  to  that. 

The  freedom  of  thought  is  a  sacred  right  of  every 
individual  man,  and  diversity  will  continue  to  increase 
with  the  progress,  refinement,  and  differentiation  of  the 
human  intellect.  But  if  difference  be  inevitable,  nay, 
welcome  in  thought,  there  is  a  sphere  in  which  una- 
nimity and  fellowship  are  above  all  things  needful.  Be- 
lieve or  disbelieve  as  ye  list — we  shall  at  all  times  re- 
spect every  honest  conviction.  But  be  one  with  us 
where  there  is  nothing  to  divide — in  action.  Diversity 
in  the  creed,  unanimity  in  the  deed!  This  is  that  prac- 
tical religion  from  which  none  dissents.  This  is  that 
platform  broad  enough  and  solid  enough  to  receive  the 
worshipper  and  the  "  infidel."  This  is  that  common 
ground  where  we  may  all  grasp  hands  as  brothers, 
united  in  mankind's  common  cause.  The  Hebrew 
prophets  said  of  old,  To  serve  Jehovah  is  to  make 
your  hearts  pure  and  your  hands  clean  from  corruption, 
to  help  the  suffering,  to  raise  the  oppressed.  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  said  that  he  came  to  comfort  the  weary  and 
heavy  laden.  The  philosopher  affirms  that  the  true 
service  of  religion  is  the  unselfish  service  of  the  com- 
mon weal.  There  is  no  difference  among  them  all. 
There  is  no  difference  in  the  law.  But  so  long  have  they 
quarrelled  concerning  the  origin  of  law  that  the  law  itself 
has  fallen  more  and  more  into  abeyance.  For  indeed,  as 
it  is  easier  to  say,  "  I  do  not  believe,"  and  have  done  with 
it,  so  also  it  is  easier  to  say,  "  I  believe,"  and  thus  to 


ADDRESS     OF   MAY    I5TH,     1876.  15 

bribe  one's  way  into  heaven,  as  it  were,  than  to  fulfil 
nobly  our  human  duties  with  all  the  daily  struggle  and 
sacrifice  which  they  involve.  "The  proposition  is  peace  !" 
Peace  to  the  warring  sects  and  their  clamors,  peace  also 
of  heart  and  mind  unto  us — that  peace  which  is  the 
fruition  of  purest  and  highest  liberty.  Let  religion  un- 
furl her  white  flag  over  the  battlegrounds  of  the  past, 
and  turn  the  fields  she  has  desolated  so  long  into  sunny 
gardens  and  embowered  retreats.  Thither  let  her  call 
the  traveler  from  the  dusty  high-road  of  life  to  breathe 
a  softer,  purer  air,  laden  with  the  fragrance  of  the 
flowers  of  wonderland,  and  musical  with  sweet  and 
restful  melody.  There  shall  he  bathe  his  spirit  in  the 
crystal  waters  of  the  well  of  truth,  and  thence  proceed 
again  upon  his  journey  with  fresher  vigor  and  new 
elasticity. 

Ah,  why  should  there  be  any  more  the  old  dividing 
line  between  man  and  his  brother-man  ?  why  should  the 
fires  of  prejudice  flare  up  anew  between  us  ?  why  should 
we  not  maintain  this  common  ground  which  we  have 
found  at  last,  and  hedge  it  round,  and  protect  it — the 
stronghold  of  freedom  and  of  all  the  humanities  for  the 
long  years  to  come  ?  Not  since  the  days  of  the  Refor- 
mation has  there  been  a  crisis  so  great  as  this  through 
which  the  present  age  is  passing.  The  world  is  dark 
around  us  and  the  prospect  seems  deepening  in  gloom. 
And  yet  there  is  light  ahead.  On  the  volume  of  the 
past  in  starry  characters  it  is  written — the  starry  legend 
greets  us  shining  through  the  misty  vistas  of  the  future 
— that  the  great  and  noble  shall  not  perish  from  among 
the  sons  of  men,  that  the  truth  will  triumph  in  the  end, 
and  that  even  the  humblest  of  her  servants  may  in  this 


16  ADDRESS    OF   MAY    I5TH,    1876. 

become  the  instruments  of  unending  good.  We  are 
aiding  in  laying  the  foundations  of  a  mighty  edifice, 
whose  completion  shall  not  be  seen  in  our  day,  no,  nor 
in  centuries  upon  centuries  after  us.  But  happy  are  we, 
indeed,  if  we  can  contribute  even  the  least  towards  so 
high  a  consummation.  The  time  calls  for  action.  Up, 
then,  and  let  us  do  our  part  faithfully  and  well.  And 
oh,  friends,  our  children's  children  will  hold  our  mem- 
ories dearer  for  the  work  which  we  begin  this  hour. 


TWENTIETH   ANNIVERSARY 

OF  THE 

SOCIETY    FOR    ETHICAL   CULTURE 

OF    NEW    YORK, 

CARNEGIE  HALL,   FRIDAY   EVENING,    MAY  I5TH,  1896.* 


ADDRESS    BY    ALFRED    R.    WOLFF,  f 

Well  may  the  joyous  strains  of  solemn  music  fill  the 
air,  well  may  the  glorious  beauty  of  blooming  flowers 
greet  the  eye,  for  we  are  here  to-night  to  celebrate  a 
great  occasisn.  Oh,  that  our  feeble  speech  could  as  fit- 
tingly translate  the  gladness  of  the  heart ! 

Imbued  with  a  love  for  the  Society  and  for  the  princi- 
ples it  inculcates,  we  rejoice  in  our  existence  these  twenty 
years.  We  rejoice  in  what  has  been  accomplished  in 
the  past ;  we  rejoice  still  more  in  the  greater  and  better 
things  to  be  accomplished  in  the  future.  We  rejoice  that 
our  movement  has  spread  and  is  spreading  on  fruitful 
soil  here  and  abroad,  in  the  new  world  and  in  the  old.  We 
rejoice  that  new  and  strong  leaders  have  espoused  our 

*  The  Hall  was  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers,  and  classical  music 
was  rendered,  before  and  after  each  address,  by  the  Musical  Art  Society 
of  New  York,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Frank  Damrosch. 

f  On  behalf  of  the  members  of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  New 
York. 

(17) 


1 8  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

cause.  We  rejoice  that  our  own  distinguished  leader, 
he  who  called  this  great  movement  into  existence  and 
who  has  been  its  fountain  source,  our  trusted  and  beloved 
guide  these  many  years,  is  with  us  to-day,  in  the  prime 
of  his  power,  undimmed  in  intellect,  ripe  in  experience, 
rich  in  soul,  his  life  bound  up  with  and  consecrated  to 
the  cause. 

Those  of  us  who,  looking  backward,  remember  the 
many  prophecies  of  our  speedy  and  effective  dissolution, 
cannot  but  feel  that  the  very  fact  of  having  existed 
twenty  years  counts  for  much,  for  in  all  this  time  there 
has  been  no  backsliding,  no  change  of  principle,  no 
change  of  heart,  merely  a  healthy  development  and  a 
vigorous  growth. 

We  hold  in  grateful  memory  the  small  band  of  earnest 
men  who  launched  the  ship  and  helped  steer  it  in  the 
right  course.  We  glory  in  their  enthusiasm  and  self- 
sacrifice,  and,  kindled  by  their  example,  we  resolve  that 
henceforth  our  efforts  will  be  more  worthy  of  theirs. 

We  are  attached  to  our  Society.  We  believe  in  the 
principles  it  represents.  We  recognize  that  nothing 
should  be  left  undone  to  discover  the  right.  We  favor 
the  broadest  inquiry,  we  court  the  deepest  philosophy, 
the  closest  introspection,  but  the  mere  formulation  of 
the  right  in  the  abstract  does  not  satisfy  our  needs.  We 
know  that  the  right  must  be  translated  practically  into 
every  action  of  our  lives.  Our  home  life  must  show 
plain  evidence  of  this,  so  must  our  career  in  business  or 
in  the  professions.  Our  duties  as  citizens  must  be  con- 
ceived in  a  high  spirit,  and  the  great  social  reforms  and 
humanitarian  problems  of  the  world  must  claim  our 
hearty  co-operation  and  loving  devotion.  We  may  be 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  IQ 

frail  and  weak  and  not  always  succeed,  but  we  recognize 
the  obligation,  even  when  we  score  a  failure. 

In  the  existing  complex  and  interwoven  organization 
of  society  the  individual  is  dependent  on  his  fellowmen, 
and  right  living  is  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible,  if  there 
be  not  a  congenial  and  responsive  environment.  It  is 
this  which  makes  association  of  those  who  would  dis- 
cover and  act  the  right  so  important ;  it  is  the  answer  to 
those  who  would  favor  individualism  in  ethics  and  dis- 
courage societies  for  ethical  culture.  The  moral  hero 
may  need  no  impulse  from  without,  for  him  temptations 
may  not  exist,  but  the  ordinary  mortal,  anxious  to  live 
his  part  well,  requires  spiritual  companions,  the  hand  of 
fellowship,  the  strength  of  good  example,  encourage- 
ment, and  a  sympathetic  surrounding.  Then,  too,  the 
social  conditions  are  still  so  bad,  there  is  so  much  remedial 
and  curative  work  to  be  done,  that  only  co-operation  and 
the  active  association  of  many  can  accomplish  even 
slight  changes  in  the  right  direction.  Our  individualistic 
moral  hero  may  lead  a  beautiful  inspiring  life  passively, 
but  to  do  so  with  equal  success  actively  he  cannot  ignore 
the  outer  world,  but  must  co-operate  with  other  spirits 
whose  aims  are  high.  We,  members  of  the  Society  for 
Ethical  Culture,  know  we  are  but  ordinary  mortals  who 
need  the  light  of  wisdom  and  inspiration  which  others 
wiser  and  better  can  give  us ;  who  need  the  strength 
which  comes  from  high  endeavor,  from  union  in  a  good 
cause,  the  fellowship  of  congenial  souls,  and,  therefore, 
we  are  banded  together.  We  feel  we  are  better  fitted  to 
do  our  part  in  the  world's  work  because  of  this  union. 

On  this,  our  twentieth  anniversary,  it  is  pardonable  to 
note  with  gratification  that  we  have  been  enabled  to  con 


2O  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

tribute  our  little  share  to  some  important  educational  and 
social  reforms.  Our  Workingman's  School,  in  which  the 
training  of  the  hand,  the  mind,  and  the  heart  is  brought 
into  one  harmonious  union,  in  which  culture  in  its  broad- 
est sense  is  the  goal,  is  rated  by  educators  the  world 
over  as  a  pioneer  institution  of  undoubted  success,  a  far- 
reaching  influence  for  the  good.  The  district  nursing 
system,  which  has  brought  relief  to  many  sufferers  has 
proved  of  such  value  that  it  has  become  a  regular  insti- 
tution of  the  leading  Dispensaries.  We  might  recall 
much  other  important  work,  but  let  us  rather  in  this 
hour  of  joy  and  happiness  feel  that  what  has  been  done 
is  as  nothing  to  what  has  been  left  undone  and  still  re- 
mains to  be  done.  Let  us  rather  contemplate  the  past 
in  the  spirit  of  consecration  and  dedication  to  the  future, 
resolved  that  henceforth  we  will  strive  to  do  better, 
and,  above  all,  to  be  better.  For  it  is  the  inward  peace 
which  we  must  gain  :  so  to  live  that  we  feel  in  touch 
with  the  divine  purpose  which  permeates  tne  world. 
To  the  extent  we  realize  this,  to  that  extent  do  we  realize 
the  spirit  of  religion,  which  should  be  the  flower  of  an 
ethical  inspiration,  of  an  ethical  life.  The  more  our 
souls  are  filled  with  and  guided  by  the  love  of  the  right, 
the  more  our  every  action  and  principle  in  life  is  the  out- 
growth and  the  logical  result  of  this  spirit,  the  greater 
will  be  our  achievement,  the  greater  our  peace,  and  there 
will  come  to  us  a  faith  in  the  triumph  of  the  right  which 
is  certainly  akin  to,  if  it  be  not,  religion. 

Because  this  is  our  belief,  therefore  are  we  members  of 
the  Society.  To  us  the  Society  represents  a  vital  issue  and 
a  vital  force.  It  is  not  a  club,  it  is  not  a  purely  secular 
organization  ;  we  cherish  it  as  an  aid  and  a  necessity  to  our 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  21 

soul-life.  It  represents  to  us  a  church,  teaching  no  tenet 
inconsistent  with  the  severest  logic  and  the  profoundest 
science,  but  still  a  church,  for  it  recalls  to  us  our  rela- 
tion to  the  life  universal  and  bids  us  do  our  part  fittingly, 
manfully,  well,  despite  any  discouragements,  despite  any 
hardships,  despite  any  temptations.  It  teaches  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  the  right,  and  that  it  is  our  part  to  be 
a  factor  and  an  agent  to  help  bring  about  this  triumph. 

I  have  spoken  as  a  member  of  the  crew.  The  ship 
we  sail  is  steering  for  the  City  of  the  Light.  Far  dis- 
tant as  we  are  from  the  coveted  shore,  our  trained  and 
faithful  captains  feel  its  magnetic  influence.  Inspired, 
they  describe  to  us  their  vision  and  bid  us  follow  them 
and  work  with  renewed,  untiring  energy.  We  know  we 
cannot  reach  the  shore,  but  we  are  happy  in  the  thought 
that  our  work  may  bring  the  ship  nearer  its  destination. 
It  is  a  noble  cruise.  We  recall  to-night  that  we  have 
sailed  the  ship  for  twenty  years ;  we  have  made  some 
headway  on  the  voyage.  Privileged  to  be  of  the  crew, 
we  proclaim  our  eagerness  to  continue  the  voyage  bound 
for  the  same  goal,  under  the  same  fine  guidance,  our 
hearts  full  of  joy  that  we  can  do  our  small  part  in  the 
onward  course  of  the  good  ship.  With  Longfellow  we 
say  : 

"  In  spite  of  rock  and  tempest's  roar, 

In  spite  of  false  lights  on  the  shore, 

Sail  on,  nor  fear  to  breast  the  sea  ! 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  are  all  with  thee, 

Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  tears, 

Our  faith  triumphant  o'er  our  fears, 

Are  all  with  thee — all  with  thee  !" 


22  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 


ADDRESS  BY  WILLIAM   M.  SALTER. 

Members  of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture,  this  is  a 
glad  day  for  you  here.  But  it  is  my  privilege  to  say 
that  beyond  the  city  of  New  York  there  are  those  who 
are  rejoicing  with  you.  This  is  a  local  anniversary,  but  it 
awakens  a  national,  I  might  say,  an  international  interest. 
You  of  this  Society  have  started  a  stream  of  influence — 
and  the  stream  may  be  stronger  at  its  fountain  head  than 
anywhere  else — but  it  is  a  stream  that  has  reached  other 
cities  and  other  lands  and  has  refreshed  dry  and  thirsty 
hearts  wherever  it  has  gone. 

Six  years  after  you  began  here,  a  kindred  society 
sprang  up  in  Chicago.  Two  years  later,  a  society  arose 
in  Philadelphia.  In  one  year  more  the  St.  Louis  Ethical 
Society  was  born.  And  the  proudest  testimony  which 
these  spiritual  children  of  your  leader  could  give  to  him 
is  that  so  much  of  his  vitality  and  vigor  has  passed  into 
them  that  even  without  him  they  could  hold  a  successful 
convention — in  some  respects  the  most  successful  con- 
vention the  American  Ethical  Societies  ever  had — 
recently  in  St.  Louis  (in  connection  with  the  tenth  anni- 
versary of  the  local  Society).  A  few  years  later  yet,  the 
West  London  Ethical  Society  formed  itself  under  the 
leadership  of  Dr.  Coit,  and  since  then  three  other  socie- 
ties have  been  formed  in  that  great  city.  Germany,  too, 
has  given  birth  to  an  ethical  movement,  and  through 
Germany  the  movement  has  gone  to  Austria,  Italy  and 
Switzerland.  France  has  an  at  least  similar  movement, 
though  not  so  directly  an  offspring  of  the  American 
movement  as  those  in  other  countries.  All  of  these 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  23 

societies  are   rejoicing  in  your  anniversary  to-day,  or 
would,  if  they  knew  of  it. 

Out  of  several  messages  that  have  been  received  I  will 
read  these  two  : 

VIENNA,  May  15,  1896. 
Felix  Adler,  New  York  : 

Heartiest  wishes  from  Austrian  Ethical  Society. 

BREZINA,  President. 

BERLIN,  May  15,  1896. 
Felix  Adler,  New  York  : 

To  to-day's  celebration  the  German  Society  for  Ethical  Culture 
sends  most  cordial  good  wishes  and  fraternal  gratitude. 

As  I  came  over  on  the  train  from  Philadelphia  this  morn- 
ing I  read  the  address  made  by  your  leader  in  Standard 
Hall  just  twenty  years  ago.  I  marveled  at  the  clear 
vision  and  the  firm  hand  with  which  he  portrayed  the 
evils  of  the  time  which  your  Society  was  designed  to 
meet,  and  when  he  said  at  the  close  :  "  And  oh,  friends, 
our  childrens'  children  will  hold  our  memories  dearer  for 
the  work  which  we  begin  this  hour,"  I  wondered  if  he 
had  any  idea  of  children  in  the  larger  and  less  local 
sense,  such  as  those  to  whom  I  have  referred.  Children 
from  afar  as  well  as  those  in  New  York,  children  whom 
you  may  never  see,  as  well  as  those  growing  up  under 
your  eyes,  rise  up  in  spirit  and  bless  you  for  the  bold, 
brave  stand  taken  by  your  leader  twenty  years  ago,  and 
for  the  ready  and  ever  loyal  response  which  you  have 
given  to  his  appeals.  Few  men,  I  think,  have  accom- 
plished so  much  in  twenty  years  as  Felix  Adler,  particu- 
larly in  so  difficult  a  field  as  that  of  moral  reform  ;  and, 
after  all,  the  work  is  but  in  its  beginnings. 

One  actual  problem  now  is  to  hold  the  ethical  move- 


24  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

ment  together.  It  has  grown  so  large,  it  is  spreading 
so  rapidly,  that  it  is  even  difficult  to  keep  track  of  it — 
not  to  say,  hold  it  together  in  bonds  of  conscious  fel- 
lowship. With  the  new  day  we  need  new  institutions. 
We  need  what  I  might  call  a  Home  and  Foreign  Secre- 
tary who  should  keep  in  touch  with  the  societies,  old 
and  new,  and  keep  them  in  touch  with  one  another.  We 
do  not  wish  to  have  the  movement  disintegrate  and  split 
up  into  mere  local,  self-centered,  organizations,  but  to 
remain  one  body  and  to  have  a  common  spirit  and  a 
common  life.  There  is  danger  of  irresponsible  societies 
arising  and  doing  injury  as  well  as  good  to  our  cause, 
unless  we  are  alert  to  these  needs  and  aggressive  in 
meeting  them. 

And  then  how  great  the  need  of  leaders  !  There  is 
not  a  large  city  in  our  land  in  which  an  Ethical  Society 
might  not  be  planted,  had  we  the  right  men  to  put  at 
their  head.  And  in  a  new  movement,  leaders  are  abso- 
lutely necessary.  Interest,  even  enthusiasm,  are  not 
sufficient.  There  must  be  intelligent  direction.  What 
an  opportunity  is  thus  open  to  young  men — yes,  I  might 
add,  young  women  !  The  fact  is  our  movement  is  grow- 
ing beyond  our  power  to  wisely  direct  it — at  once  a 
splendid  tribute  to  you  who  begot  it  and  yet  a  matter 
for  anxious  concern  and  serious  consideration. 

Yes,  friends  of  the  New  York  Society,  there  is  just 
one  thing  that  gives  me  disappointment  in  these  twenty 
years  of  your  history.  You  and  your  leader  have  left  a 
noble  record  of  yourselves  in  the  large  undertakings  of 
public  utility  you  have  set  on  foot  in  this  city,  in  the 
elevated  utterances  from  your  platform,  in  the  example 
and  the  help  you  have  lent  to  sister  societies  elsewhere. 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  25 

But  you  have  not  given  us  another  ethical  leader  out  of 
your  own  midst.  And  we  need  one.  We  need  one 
born  and  bred  under  the  influences  that  have  only  come 
to  the  rest  of  us  in  later  years,  and  that,  had  they  come 
earlier,  might  have  made  us  twice  the  men  that  we  are. 
Yes,  why  shall  I  not  say  it  ?  We  need  another  son  of 
Israel,  one  of  that  race  to  whom  imagination  and  genius 
and  eloquent  speech  come  like  gifts  of  nature,  who  can 
fire  the  heart  as  perhaps  we  of  colder  blood  cannot,  and 
of  whom,  according  to  an  authority  revered  all  over  the 
Christian  world,  human  salvation  comes.  Would  there 
were  within  reach  of  my  voice  to-night  some  one  who 
in  all  humility,  and  yet  in  all  confidence,  might  heed 
the  call,  on  whom  the  rich  mantle  of  your  leader  might 
fall  and  who  might  do  elsewhere  the  great  and  beneficent 
work  which  he  has  been  doing  here  !  If  I  could  drop 
a  thought  of  this  sort  into  fruitful  ground  here  I  should 
count  myself  happy  indeed. 

Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  New  York,  your  friends 
and  children  from  near  and  from  far  greet  you  through 
me  now ;  we  want  more  like  you,  we  want  more  leaders 
like  yours  ! 


ADDRESS    BY    M.    M.    MANGASARIAN. 

Not  having  received  the  manuscript  of  Mr.  Manga- 
sarian's  address,  we  can  only  give  a  brief  resume  of 
what  he  said.  He  began  by  saying  that  he  wished  to 
congratulate  the  New  York  Society  upon  the  great 
work  they  had  achieved,  and  hoped  that  their  devotion 


26  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

to  the  cause  and  their  example  would  inspire  the  sister 
societies  to  larger  action.  He  wanted  to  see  the  idea  of 
the  movement  more  widely  spread  in  this  country  and 
to  have  it  stand  for  large  affirmations,  for  affirmations 
that  would  in  time  create  an  ethical  liturgy  in  which 
both  lecturer  and  congregation  could  take  part.  The 
aim  of  our  movement  is  not  to  rob  the  world  of  faith 
and  hope,  but  to  rationalize  and  elevate  them.  The 
message  of  ethics  is  not  a  message  of  doubt,  of  uncer- 
tainty, but  of  positive  faith  in  the  moral  verities  of  life. 
Ethics  is  synonymous  with  hope,  not  despair ;  it  is  a 
religion  to  all  who  believe  that  the  moral  life  is  the 
supreme  end  of  human  endeavor. 


ADDRESS    BY    FELIX    ADLER. 

It  is  under  the  stress  of  deep  feeling  that  I  address 
you  to-night,  at  the  close  of  the  second  decade  of  our 
existence.  A  score  of  years  has  passed  since  a  small 
company  of  men  and  women — a  mere  handful — agreed 
to  associate  themselves  together  for  purposes  which 
seemed  to  them  exceedingly,  nay,  incomparably,  signifi- 
cant. The  seed  that  was  then  planted  has  not  perished. 
The  words  then  spoken  have  had  a  certain  resonance. 
We  have  heard  this  evening  echoes  of  them  from  across 
the  sea.  And  yet  this  is  no  occasion  for  self-congratula- 
tion. Truly,  the  legend  of  St.  Christopher  is  applicable  in 
a  wider  sense  than  its  literal  meaning  would  imply — the 
legend  of  the  man  who  undertook  to  carry  the  Christ- 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  27 

child  on  his  shoulders  across  a  stream.  And  the  deeper 
he  entered  into  the  water  the  heavier  became  the  burden 
which  he  had  assumed  so  lightly  at  the  start,  until  it 
pressed  upon  him  like  a  mountain,  and  he  threatened  to 
succumb  beneath  its  weight.  Such  is  the  experience  of 
all  who,  in  the  sanguine  days  of  youth,  have  assumed 
the  divine  burden  of  a  reformation  of  any  kind ;  and 
there  is  no  salvation  for  them  unless  their  strength  shall 
increase  in  proportion  as  the  load  increases.  This, 
then,  is  an  occasion  useful  and  needful  for  us,  that  we 
may  renew  our  strength,  our  courage,  our  hope.  And 
we  can  best  do  so  by  going  back  for  a  moment  to  the 
source  from  which  we  derived  our  original  impetus,  by 
reviewing  the  reasons  which  led  to  the  formation  of  our 
Society,  by  coming  face  to  face  with  those  principles 
which  were  the  incentives  that  prompted  us.  It  is  said 
that  the  mere  sight  of  the  gods  is  rejuvenating.  So, 
also,  is  the  contemplation  of  god-like  ideals. 

The  motive  that  prompted  the  formation  of  the  So- 
ciety was  the  desire  for  an  institution  which,  for  its 
members,  should  take  the  place  of  a  church.  The 
church,  in  its  broadest  sense,  has  a  social  function. 
The  function  of  the  church  is  to  present  the  ideal  of 
society  as  it  ought  to  be,  in  the  midst  of  human  society, 
imperfect  as  it  actually  is.  It  is  also  to  be  a  fair  pat- 
tern, a  living  embodiment,  a  suggestive  type,  of  more 
ideal  relationships  than  those  which  commonly  prevail. 
As  the  ideals  of  society  differ,  so  do  churches  differ. 
But  the  church,  in  the  widest  meaning  of  the  word — 
call  it  by  whatever  name  you  please — is  not  perishable. 
It  will  last  as  long  as  the  state  lasts,  or,  rather,  until 
it  shall  have  absorbed  the  state  into  itself.  Now  the 


28  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

church,  it  should  be  remembered,  has  a  service  to  ren- 
der to  the  families  as  well  as  to  the  individuals  of  which 
it  is  composed.  The  family  life,  if  it  is  to  be  thoroughly 
wholesome  and  fine,  requires  the  consecration  of  con- 
scious connection  with  the  larger  social  life  that  sur- 
rounds it.  And  there  are  a  variety  of  points  at  which 
this  connection  needs  to  be  particularly  accentuated. 
The  first  point  is  at  the  inception  of  the  family  life,  when 
the  foundations  of  a  new  home  are  laid,  when  the  mar- 
riage tie  is  knit.  The  state  can  only  legalize  marriages. 
It  is  in  the  name  of  the  ideal  society,  and  its  exalted 
purposes,  from  which  the  new  home  receives  the  light 
that  is  to  fill  it,  that  marriages  are  solemnized.  Another 
point  of  connection  is  to  be  found  in  the  moral  educa- 
tion of  the  young.  If,  indeed,  a  piece-meal  morality  is 
not  deemed  sufficient ;  if  it  be  desirable  that  the  frag- 
mentary virtues  which  are  learned  by  casual  precept  and 
example,  be  combined  into  a  consistent  scheme  of  con- 
duct, then  there  must  be  offered  to  the  minds  of  grow- 
ing youths  and  maidens  a  distinct  social  ideal  from  which 
all  the  several  duties  may  be  derived,  in  which  they  may 
all  be  united,  and  which  shall  fill  the  young  with  a 
noble  enthusiasm  for  social  service.  The  individualist  is 
mistaken  if  he  believes  that  he  can  discharge  this  deli- 
cate pedagogical  duty.  An  institution  is  needed  to 
provide  for  the  satisfaction  of  this  need.  And  again, 
in  the  hour  of  bereavement,  the  family  realizes  its  de- 
pendence on  the  larger  human  society  by  which  it  is 
enveloped.  When  the  common  fate  has  struck  us,  and 
we  relalize  in  our  own  case  the  common  lot,  it  is  only 
the  thought  of  the  common  purpose  of  mankind's  exist- 
ence on  earth  that  can  sustain  us.  It  is  Humanity,  the 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  29 

bearer  of  age-long  sorrows,  acquainted  with  nameless 
griefs  ;  humanity  with  its  tear-stained  face,  with  its  scars 
and  wounds,  and  yet  also  with  the  radiant  eye  that  looks 
beyond  and  beyond,  and  its  sad,  wise  smile  of  patience 
and  resignation,  that  alone  can  hush  our  private  griefs  ! 
And  it  is  this  voice,  through  whatever  mouth-piece,  that 
should  be  heard  in  the  house  of  mourning.  To  solemnize 
marriages,  to  whisper  the  reconciling  words  into  the 
silence  of  death,  to  give  point  and  unity  to  the  moral 
life  of  the  youg — these  are  some  of  the  services  to  be 
expected  from  such  societies  as  this.  It  is  not  good  for 
families  to  stand  alone,  if  they  would  have  the  best 
family  life.  Nor  does  the  loose  association  of  a  group 
of  friendly  families,  changeful,  dependent,  often,  on  mere 
accident,  interest,  or  sentiment,  supply  the  need.  It  is 
requisite  that  the  family  should  not  only  be  imbedded  in 
the  community,  but  organically  related  to  it,  and  that 
through  the  medium  of  an  association,  which  has  in  it 
an  element  of  permanence  and  greatness,  because  it 
stands  for  what  is  most  lasting  and  greatest  in  the  in- 
terests of  society  at  large. 

But  our  association  has  a  duty  to  perform  for  the  in- 
dividuals, as  well  as  for  the  families,  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed. There  is  a  vessel  of  purest  gold,  says  the  Bud- 
dhist story,  for  which,  when  the  Buddha  saw  it,  he  gave 
all  that  he  had  in  exchange ;  and  then  ran  swiftly  to  the 
river's  brink  and  plunged  into  the  flood,  risking  his  life 
in  the  attempt  to  save  his  treasure  from  those  who  would 
have  robbed  him  of  it.  There  is  a  pearl  of  great  price, 
says  the  parable  of  the  New  Testament,  for  which  the 
merchant  who  sought  goodly  pearls  sold  all  his  posses- 
sions in  order  that  he  might  purchase  it.  There  is  one 


3O  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

thing  needful — yes,  for  us,  too — one  thing  needful.  We 
want  a  new  doctrine  of  life  to  take  the  place  of  the  disin- 
tegrating creeds.  We  want  to  lay  our  hands  upon  the 
sovereign  throne  of  truth,  even  if  the  figure  that  sits 
thereon  be  veiled.  We  want  to  come  into  touch  with 
the  ultimate  power  in  things,  the  ultimate  peace  in  things, 
which  yet,  in  any  literal  sense,  we  know  well  that  we 
cannot  know.  We  want  to  be  morally  certain  ;  that  is, 
certain  for  moral  purposes  of  what  is  beyond  the  reach 
of  demonstration.  Agnosticism,  in  the  absolute  sense, 
does  not  exist.  The  strictest  constructionist  of  the 
limits  of  knowledge  does  yet  plant  certain  stupendous 
affirmations  in  the  realm  of  the  unknowable,  certain 
postulates — such  as  that  of  the  uniformity  of  nature's 
processes — the  truth  of  which  he  can  never  fully  verify, 
which  serve  him  rather  as  instruments  for  discovering 
truths  which  he  can  verify.  So  we,  too,  are  justified  in 
planting  in  the  realm  of*the  unknowable  the  working 
hypothesis  of  human  conduct,  a  postulate  upon  which 
we  depend  in  order  to  extend  the  boundaries  and  pro- 
mote the  ends  of  the  good.  And  the  postulate  I  have 
in  mind  is  identical  with  what  is  commonly  called  moral 
optimism — the  belief,  namely,  that  the  better  side  of 
things  will  come  uppermost ;  that  moral  progress  is  not 
a  chimera ;  that  the  course  of  evolution  is  not  circular 
but  ascending  ;  that  something  worth  while  is  develop- 
ing in  the  world ;  that  the  labor  and  the  anguish  are 
not  in  vain  ;  that  the  good  and  the  tt  ue  are  rooted  in 
the  nature  of  things,  and  mingle  their  spurs  in  the  sub- 
soil of  the  universe.  But  this  moral  optimism,  which 
includes  the  darkest  facts  that  pessimism  can  oppose — 
includes  and  transcends  them — how  can  we  obtain  it? 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  3! 

To  this  question  the  answer  is  given  in  our  name — 
"  Ethical  Culture." 

Of  Goethe  Carlyle  said  that  "  in  his  creations  is  em- 
bodied the  religious  wisdom  which  is  proper  to  this 
time,  which  may  still  reveal  to  us  glimpses  of  the  unseen 
but  not  unreal  world,  that  so  clear  knowledge  may 
be  again  wedded  to  religion."  If  Goethe  had  uttered 
the  religious  teaching  proper  to  this  time,  why  have  not 
the  multitudes  fed  on  him  and  satisfied  themselves  with 
his  teachings  ?  Goethe,  it  is  true,  more  than  any  one 
else,  inaugurated  what  is  called  the  era  of  "culture." 
But  he  was  poet  and  artist,  and  his  scheme  of  culture  is 
suited  mainly  for  poets  and  artists  like  himself.  The 
rest  of  mankind  it  is  calculated  to  satisfy  only  on  one 
side  of  their  nature — the  aesthetic  side.  To  live  ear- 
nestly, so  as  to  produce  genuine  works  of  art ;  to  enter 
into  the  deeper  understanding  of  art,  so  as  to  give  to 
actual  life  the  formal  poise  and  finish  of  a  work  of  art  ; 
in  other  words,  to  make  harmony  and  beauty  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end  of  all  human  endeavor — such  is  the 
gospel  of  culture  as  put  forth  by  Goethe.  It  is  a  gospel 
the  value  of  which  as  an  element  of  wisdom  cannot  be 
denied ;  but  it  cannot,  on  the  other  hand,  be  said  that  it 
is  "the  religious  teaching  which  is  proper  to  our  time." 
It  is  fitted  for  those  who  dwell  on  Olympian  levels,  not 
for  the  dust-covered  fighters  in  the  arena  ;  for  those  who 
stand  aloof  from  the  dire  struggle  for  existence  as  spec- 
tators, not  for  those  who  are  subject  to  its  stress  and 
strain.  The  watchword  "culture"  we  may  indeed 
adopt.  But  there  is  needed  the  qualifying  prefix  "  eth- 
ical "  to  give  it  a  practical  direction,  and  a  still  higher 
aim  than  the  aesthetic  one.  Culture,  therefore,  we  also 


32  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

say,  but  Ethical  Culture  ;  and  by  that  we  mean  that  we 
must  appeal,  not  primarily  to  the  feelings,  as  Goethe 
did,  but  to  the  will ;  that  we  shall  seek  the  truest  devel- 
opment of  self,  not  in  subjective  enjoyment,  however 
subtle  and  refined,  but  in  laboring  for  an  objective 
good  ;  that  we  shall  ever  be  willing,  if  need  be,  to  sac- 
rifice the  present  harmony  of  our  lives  for  the  sake  of  a 
far-off  universal  harmony  which  is  to  be  in  the  future, 
of  which  we  can  only  dimly,  faintly,  foresee  the  beauty 
and  the  holiness.  None  the  less,  in  weighty  words,  has 
Goethe  outlined  the  method  of  all  culture,  and  that 
method  prescribes  the  cardinal  rule  which  we,  too,  must 
follow.  Words,  he  says,  are  incapable  of  articulating 
what  is  best,  and  where  words  fail,  the  act,  the  deed, 
clarifies.  Deeds,  executive  efforts,  are  the  means  which 
put  us  in  possession  of  the  principles  that  should 
underlie  doing.  And  this  is  also  our  persuasion ;  and 
hence  the  strenuous  emphasis  which  we  put  on  deeds 
— not,  as  has  been  superficially  understood,  as  if  we 
recommended  what  is  called  "  the  doing  of  good" — the 
feeding  of  the  hungry,  the  nursing  of  the  sick,  the  edu- 
coting  of  the  ignorant — as  a  makeshift  substitute  to 
console  us  in  the  despair  of  principles  ;  as  a  narcotic  to 
allay  the  pain  which  is  caused  by  the  absence  of  a  great 
central  conviction — but  deeds  as  the  means  of  discover- 
ing principles,  as  a  means  of  bringing  to  the  birth  a 
truer,  broader,  and  deeper  conviction. 

To  such  deeds  we  are  challenged  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  This  age  is  an 
age  of  pleasure  for  the  giddy,  an  age  of  anxiety  and 
profound  concern  for  the  thoughtful.  The  murmuring 
discontent  that  arises  from  the  laboring  masses,  the 


TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES.  33 

dangers  that  menace  the  institution  of  the  family  in 
every  civilized  country,  the  failure  that  has  attended 
every  experiment  in  democratic  government  thus  far  to 
achieve  the  true  welfare  of  nations,  have  raised  a  series 
of  terrifying  problems  which,  sooner  or  later — and  better 
soon  than  late — society  must  meet.  And  all  these 
problems,  as  has  been  justly  said,  lead  down,  if  we 
follow  them  far  enough,  to  ethical  foundations,  and. 
depend  for  their  solution  upon  two  factors :  a  new 
influx  of  moral  power,  and  the  evolution  of  a  new  con- 
science— that  is,  the  clearer  perception  of  those  moral 
requirements  on  which,  amid  the  altered  conditions  of 
the  present,  the  progress  of  mankind  depends.  To  aid 
in  the  evolution  of  this  new  conscience,  to  inject  living 
streams  of  moral  force  into  the  dry  veins  of  materialistic 
communities,  that  was  our  program  twenty  years  ago 
when  we  began.  That,  seen  in  sharper  outlines,  is  our 
program  to-day. 

To  you,  members  of  my  Society,  who  have  accepted 
this  program ;  who  have,  during  so  long  a  period,  amid 
manifold  discouragements  and  against  the  odds  of  pre- 
judice and  misconstruction,  sustained  my  own  incip- 
ient efforts  in  this  great  contention,  whose  loyalty  and 
trust  have  been  to  me  perpetual  springs  of  strength,  I 
owe,  on  this  occasion,  what  ? — the  expression  of  my  per- 
sonal sense  of  appreciation  ?  No,  you  do  not  expect  that, 
and  I  cannot  offer  it.  What  is  best  cannot  articulate  itself 
in  words ;  and  the  ties  that  exist  between  us  are  too 
intimate  and  delicate  to  become  matter  of  formal  recog- 
nition. Let  us,  rather,  to-night  jointly  renew  our  oath 
of  allegiance  to  our  flag.  Let  us  consecrate  ourselves, 
with  a  more  earnest  purpose,  to  the  work  that  is  waiting 


34  TWENTIETH    ANNIVERSARY    ADDRESSES. 

to  be  done.  And  let  us  take  heart  of  hope  in  the  belief 
that  the  bells  on  the  great  watch-tower  of  time,  as  they 
ring  out  the  passing  years,  will  ring  in,  at  last,  the  better 
day.  Ring  out  the  old  and  in  the  new  !  Ring  out  the 
false  and  in  the  true  ! 

"  Ring  in  the  valiant  man  and  free, 
The  larger  heart,  the  kindlier  hand. 
Ring  out  the  darkness  of  the  land, 
Ring  in  the  light  that  is  to  be  !" 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  ETHICAL 
SOCIETIES. 


The  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  New  York. 

In  the  Centennial  year  of  our  national  independence,  when  a 
general  spirit  of  hopefulness  was  in  the  air,  and  the  recollection 
of  great  events  in  the  past  stirred  men's  hearts,  the  corner-stone 
of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  was  laid.  Even  at  that  time 
the  number  of  "liberal"  societies  in  the  country  was  consider- 
able, and  the  teachings  of  men  like  Channing,  Parker,  and, 
above  all,  Emerson  had  done  much  to  prepare  the  way  for  an 
Ethical  Movement.  On  the  I5th  of  May,  1876,  several  hundred 
persons,  interested  in  the  formation  of  a  Society  for  Ethical 
Culture,  met  in  Standard  Hall,  at  the  corner  of  Forty-second 
street  and  Broadway.  Dr.  Adler,  then  lecturer  at  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, delivered  an  address  in  which  he  gave  expression  to 
those  principles  on  which  the  work  of  the  Society  has  ever  since 
rested.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  address  the  Society  was  regu- 
larly constituted.  Thus  the  I5th  of  May  became  the  birthday 
not  only  of  the  Ethical  Society  in  New  York,  but  of  the  Move- 
ment in  America.  The  address  of  that  evening  is  elsewhere  re- 
printed in  full. 

The  Sunday  lectures  were  at  first  given  in  Standard  Hall. 
After  a  few  years,  however,  the  accommodations  proving  insuffi- 
cient, the  Society  removed  to  Chickering  Hall,  where  it  remained 
until  1892.  The  audiences  having  again  outgrown  the  capacity 
of  the  Hall,  another  change  became  necessary,  and  during  the 
past  four  years  the  lectures  have  been  delivered  in  the  Carnegie 
Music  hall,  at  the  corner  of  Fifty-seventh  street  and  Seventh 
avenue.  The  work  of  the  Society  has  always  attracted  much  at- 
tention outside  of  its  own  membership.  About  half  the  seats  in 
the  large  hall  are  reserved  for  strangers,  and  many  thousands 
have  availed  themselves  of  this  privilege  and  come  under  the 

(35) 


36       HISTORICAL   SKETCHES   OF    ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

influence  of  the  Movement,  even  if  they  have  not  directly 
allied  themselves  with  it.  Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Society 
a  number  of  young  men  were  attracted  to  the  ideas  which  it  rep- 
resented and  prepared  themselves  to  undertake  the  duties  of 
Ethical  leadership.  After  remaining  a  few  years  in  New  York 
with  Prof.  Adler,  one  after  another  of  these  men  went  out  to 
found  new  Societies  in  different  cities  of  the  United  States.  Thir- 
teen years  ago  Mr.  W.  M.  Salter  became  lecturer  of  the  Ethical 
Society  in  Chicago.*  Two  years  later  another  Society  was 
founded  in  Philadelphia,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  S.  Burns 
Weston.  A  fourth  was  established  in  St.  Louis,  just  ten  years 
ago,  by  Mr.  W.  L.  Sheldon.  Dr.  Stanton  Coit,  who  had  also 
been  lecturer  in  New  York  for  several  years,  found  a  congenial 
field  of  work  in  England,  and  established  the  West  London 
Ethical  Society  ;  while  in  Germany,  in  Austria,  in  Italy  and  in 
Switzerland  the  same  Movement  has  recently  taken  root.  The 
following  sketch  of  the  various  educational  and  philanthropic 
activities  in  which  the  New  York  Society  is  engaged  will  best 
show  in  what  way  the  life  of  the  Society  is  expressing  itself. 

THE    ETHICAL  .CULTURE   SCHOOLS. 

If  Ethical  Culture  is  to  become  a  reality,  it  must  be  begun  among 
the  young  and  then  continued  unremittingly  in  manhood  and  old 
age.  The  moral  development  of  children  is  promoted  to  some 
extent  by  direct  moral  instruction,  but  it  depends  even  in  a 
greater  degree  upon  a  thousand  subtle  moral  influences.  The 
home  is  usually  regarded  as  the  place  where  the  child  is  to  be 
surrounded  by  such  influences.  But  the  daily  school  also  affords 
the  most  valuable  opportunities  for  the  same  sort  of  influence, 
and  its  importance  in  this  connection  is  not  generally  recognized 
as  much  as  it  ought  to  be.  If  the  Ethical  Culture  Movement  is 
to  be  perpetuated,  it  must  get  hold  of  the  young.  If  it  is  to  get 
hold  of  the  young,  it  must  gain  possession  of  the  daily  school. 
The  New  York  Society,  starting  from  this  conviction,  undertook 
to  establish  a  school  of  its  own,  which  has  steadily  grown  and 
which  now  numbers  over  four  hundred  pupils.  This  school  has, 

*  Of  which  the  present  leader  is  Mr.  M.  M.  Mangasarian,  Mr.  Salter  having  taken 
charge  of  the  Society  in  Philadelphia 


NEW    YORK    ETHICAL   SOCIETY.  37 

in  many  ways,  marked  a  new  departure.  It  was  the  first  to  in- 
troduce manual  training  as  a  regular  part  of  the  curriculum  in 
all  classes.  The  teaching  of  art  and  elementary  science  received 
particular  attention.  A  system  of  unsectarian  moral  instruction 
was  introduced,  the  aim  of  which  was  to  demonstrate  practically 
how  ethical  ideas  might  be  conveyed  to  the  minds  of  children 
independently  of  theological  dogmas.  The  methods  of  the  school 
have  been  widely  studied,  commented  on,  and  partly  copied  in 
this  and  other  countries.  But  what  is  characteristic  of  this  insti- 
tution is  its  spirit  rather  than  its  technique.  As  illustrative  of 
this  spirit  the  following  points  may  be  mentioned  : 

First,  the  greatest  possible  pains  are  taken  by  the  staff  of 
teachers  to  discover  the  bent  of  every  pupil  and  to  develop  him 
along  the  lines  of  his  natural  aptitude,  on  the  principle  that  every 
human  being  that  is  born  into  the  world  is  unique  to  some  ex- 
tent, however  slightly,  and  that  his  "  salvation  "  consists  in  being 
helped  to  express  what  he  was  designed  by  nature  to  be.  The 
art,  science,  technical  skill,  literary  training,  etc.,  employed  in 
this  school,  besides  subserving  the  purposes  of  elementary  culture 
in  general,  are  more  specifically  applied  as  so  many  tests  for  as- 
certaining the  individual  bent  of  the  pupils. 

Secondly,  a  school  diary  is  kept,  in  which  ihe  characteristic 
qualities  of  the  child — intellectual  and  moral — as  they  show 
themselves,  are  noted  down.  This  record  is  carefully  continued 
from  the  day  the  child  enters  the  school  until  it  leaves.  Its 
intellectual  and  moral  development  is  thus,  as  far  as  possible, 
photographed,  with  the  design  of  helping  the  teachers  and 
parents  more  thoroughly  to  understand  the  child — its  needs,  its 
virtues,  its  defects,  the  promise  which  it  seems  to  contain,  the 
peculiar  perils  by  which  it  seems  to  be  menaced. 

Thirdly,  every  effort  is  made  to  create  in  the  school  an  enthu- 
siasm for  social  service.  Labor  is  the  central  idea  to  which  all 
other  ideas  are  correlated — labor  in  the  interest  of  the  progress 
of  mankind.  The  story  of  human  civilization  is  told  as  far  as 
children  are  able  to  understand  it.  The  inter-dependence  of  the 
various  occupations  and  vocations  is  explained  in  the  same  way. 
The  lives  of  the  great  thinkers  and  doers  who  have  led  the  race 
forward  on  its  path  are  held  up  for  admiration.  The  school  con- 


38        HISTORICAL   SKETCHES    OF    ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

siders  its  task  accomplished  if  its  pupils  go  forth  carrying  with 
them  the  idea  of  efficient  and  thorough  work,  with  scorn  in  their 
hearts  for  slipshod  performance  of  any  sort,  and  with  the  earnest 
desire  to  render  some  kind  of  service  to  humanity  according  to 
the  measure  of  their  ability. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  school  can  never  degenerate 
into  a  class  school — a  rule  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  requiring 
that  at  least  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  pupils  shall  be  the  children  of 
poor  parents.  The  mingling  of  social  classes — the  democratic 
constitution  of  the  school — is  regarded  as  an  important  factor  in 
developing  character  and  creating  a  right  view  of  life. 

The  school  at  present  takes  pupils  up  to  the  fourteenth  year. 
A  system  of  secondary  schools  is  being  planned,  and  has  already 
been  started,  which  is  intended  to  carry  the  work  of  the  society 
up  to  the  beginnings  of  manhood  and  womanhood. 

THE   WORK    OF   THE   YOUNG   MEN. 

Early  in  the  history  of  the  Society  there  was  f6rmed  a  group 
of  young  men,  known  as  the  "Union  for  the  Higher  Life." 
This  little  Union  was  productive  of  excellent  results.  There  was 
a  tacit  understanding  among  the  members  as  to  certain  matters 
relating  to  the  conduct  of  life — for  instance,  as  to  purity  and 
charity.  The  members  taxed  themselves  strictly  for  purposes  of 
charity  (the  main  point  being  that  charity  should  be  regarded 
as  a  duty,  and  not  be  left  to  mere  impulse),  and  further,  they 
were  to  make  it  their  aim  to  increase  in  ethical  knowledge  and 
insight.  The  little  Union  has  furnished  to  the  Society  some  of  its 
most  faithful  members  and  most  earnest  workers.  For  a  long  time 
it  supported  a  home  for  neglected  children  ;  and  this  home  was 
only  discontinued  after  its  inmates  had  become  self-supporting. 
It  is  hoped  that  the  Union  will  be  renewed  and  enlarged  during 
the  coming  winter. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  John  Elliott,  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  young  men  of  the  Society,  an  attempt  is  being  made 
to  disseminate  the  moral  ideas  for  which  the  Society  stands  among 
the  inhabitants  of  one  of  the  poorest  tenement-house  districts  of 
New  York.  A  number  of  clubs  for  workingmen  and  boys  have 
been  formed  for  this  purpose,  the  good  influence  of  which  is 


NEW    YORK    ETHICAL   SOCIETY.  39 

already  beginning  to  be  felt  in  the  neighborhood.  The  imme- 
diate object  of  these  clubs  is  to  redeem  those  who  belong  to  them 
from  the  half-savage  life  of  the  streets,  to  promote  social  refine- 
ment, to  create  a  taste  for  good  literature,  to  stimulate  the  slug- 
gish mind,  and  to  awaken  higher  and  better  aspirations. 

The  Young  Men's  Union,  so-called,  an  association  consisting 
of  several  hundred  members,  contributes  to  the  social  life  of  the 
Ethical  Society  by  a  series  of  monthly  entertainments,  and  has 
been  highly  useful  in  furnishing  financial  aid  toward  the  charities 
of  the  Society. 

The  Young  People's  Union  of  Harlem  is  engaged  in  the  seri- 
ous study  of  ethical  and  social  questions,  under  the  leadership  of 
the  best  teachers  to  be  found  on  these  subject.* 

THE   WORK    OF   THE   WOMEN. 

In  the  Spring  of  1893  the  Women's  Conference  of  the  Society 
for  Ethical  Culture  was  organized.  The  various  groups  of  women 
working  within  the  general  lines  of  the  Women's  Conference  are  : 

1.  The  Ladies'  Auxiliary  Union,   founded  fifteen  years  ago, 
with  a  present  membership  of  1 50.     The  object  of  this  group  is 
to  supply  garments  and  other  necessaries  for  the  sick  to  various 
hospitals  and  dispensaries,  and  indirectly  to  assist  a  number  of 
deserving  women  in  earning  a  decent  livelihood. 

2.  The  Ladies'  Committee  of  the  United   Relief  Works,   the 
object  of  which  is  to  assure  a  certain  sum  every  year  to  the  man- 
agers of  the  charities  of  the  Society.     This  Committee  has  done 
most  efficient  work,  and  has  usually  raised  a  sum  equal  to  about 
one-fourth  of  the  Society's  current  expenses  for  charity. 

3.  The  Visiting  and  Teaching  Guild  for  Crippled  Children. 
This  Guild  has  been  in  existence  for  seven  years.     Its  object  is 
to  visit  crippled  children  in  their  homes,  to  bring  to  them  the 
education  which  they  are  debarred,  by  their  infirmity,  from  ob- 
taining at  school,  to  cheer  and  comfort  them  during  the  months, 
and  often  years,  of  confinement  to  which  they  are  subject. 

4.  The  Mothers'  Society  for  the  Study  of  Child  Nature.     This 

*  "  The  Fortnightly,"  like  the  Young  People's  Union,  is  devoted  to  the  study  of 
ethical  and  social  questions,  with  the  difference,  however,  that  the  discussions  are  less 
formal,  the  subjects  being  discussed  by  the  members  themselves,  without  the  assistance 
of  expert  leaders? 


40       HISTORICAL   SKETCHES   OF   ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

has  existed  for  eight  years.  Its  object  is  to  familiarize  mothers 
with  the  best  educational  literature,  with  the  works  of  Locke, 
Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  Froebel,  etc.,  and  to  prepare  them  to  deal 
intelligently  and  sensitively  with  the  educational  problems  that 
arise  in  their  own  homes. 

5.  The  Wage  Earners'  Section  of  the  Ethical  Culture  Society. 
The  object  of  this  Section  is  to  provide  for  the  women  wage- 
earners,  who  are  members  of  the  Society,  special  means  of  in- 
tellectual culture,  to  stimulate  among  them  a  deeper  interest  in 
the  so-called  labor  question,  and  to  assist  in  practical  efforts  at 
improving  the  condition  of  female  wage-earners. 

Other  work  of  the  women  of  the  Society :  During  the  severe 
distress  of  the  Winter  of  1893  relief  work-shops  were  organized 
by  a  Committee  of  the  Women's  Conference,  acting  in  conjunc- 
tion with  a  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Union,  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  unemployed.  The  sum  of  $17,000  was  raised  and 
hundreds  of  women  were  supplied  with  temporary  work  sufficient 
to  keep  them  above  starvation.  A  number  of  the  members  of 
the  Women's  Conference  have  also  taken  a  special  interest  in  the 
formation  of  a  Children's  Guild.  The  aim  of  this  Guild,  which 
was  begun  in  March,  1895,  is  to  unite  the  children  of  the  Society 
in  a  fellowship  for  good  work,  and  to  bring  them  early  into  touch 
with  the  philanthrophic  activities  of  the  Society  to  which  they 
belong.  There  are  about  125  children  enrolled  in  this  Guild, 
and  the  income  derived  from  the  contributions  of  the  young 
members  is  used  to  support  a  number  of  afternoon  classes  for 
children  in  one  of  the  poorer  districts  of  New  York.  The  object 
of  the  classes  is  to  furnish  both  entertainment  and  instruction  in 
such  branches  as  are  more  or  less  neglected  in  the  public  schools. 

Besides  the  practical  activities  referred  to,  the  Women's  Con- 
ference seeks  to  discuss  and  define  woman's  true  position  in  the 
state,  in  industry,  in  science  and  art,  and  in  the  home.  For  this 
purpose  monthly  lectures  are  delivered  in  which  the  problems 
involved  are  considered  on  the  highest  plane. 

THE   SUNDAY    ETHICAL   CLASSES. 

Of  these  they  are  six,  attended  by  over  150  pupils.  It  has 
already  been  stated  that  moral  instruction  can  best  be  given  in 


NEW    YORK    ETHICAL    SOCIETY.  4! 

the  daily  school.  The  seggregation  of  this  branch  of  teaching 
into  a  so-called  Sunday-school  is  a  mere  makeshift.  The  whole 
atmosphere  of  the  daily  school  should  be  charged  with  moral 
ozone.  All  the  influences  that  play  upon  the  child  should  make 
for  character.  The  object  of  the  moral  lesson  should  be  neither 
more  nor  less  than  to  fix,  develop  and  clarify  habits  and  senti- 
ments and  ideas  which"  the  child  has,  so  to  speak,  already  ab- 
sorbed at  every  pore.  The  assemblies  of  the  children  on  Sunday 
should  have  the  same  purpose  as  the  Sunday  meetings  of  their 
elders.  Their  object  should  be  to  inspire  and  edify.  And  as  a 
considerable  number  of  the  children  of  the  members  of  our 
Society  do  not  attend  our  daily  school,  it  has  been  found  neces- 
sary to  combine  in  our  Sunday  children's  meetings  the  two  objects 
of  teaching  and  edification.  The  work  of  teaching  is  conducted, 
in  the  main,  along  the  lines  marked  out  in  Dr.  Adler's  book  on 
"The  Moral  Instruction  of  Children."  The  second  object  is 
sought  to  be  attained  by  exercises  in  which  all  the  class  join,  con- 
sisting of  singing,  a  brief  responsorium,  and  an  address  by  the 
superintendent  or  one  of  the  teachers  in  which  an  appeal  is  made 
to  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  young. 

Ethical  classes  are  also  conducted  on  week-days,  in  the  after- 
noon or  evening,  for  advanced  pupils,  in  which  instruction  is 
given  in  religious  history,  and  in  which  the  special  duties  per- 
taining to  the  life  of  young  men  and  young  women  are  con- 
sidered. 

GENERAL   CHARITIES   OF   THE   SOCIETY. 

Among  these,  one  of  the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  beneficent 
is  the  District  Nursing  System,  which  was  begun  by  the  Ethical 
Culture  Society  in  1868,  and  has  been  widely  imitated  in  New 
York  and  elsewhere.  Trained  nurses  are  sent  into  the  homes  of 
the  poor  to  give  them  skilled  attendance  in  sickness,  to  relieve 
pain  and  to  provide  conditions  favorable  for  recovery  ;  and  also  to 
bring  the  civilizing  influence  of  gentleness,  patience  and  refinement 
into  these  often  squalid  and  degraded  homes.  That  the  nurse 
must  be  a  lady  in  the  best  sense  is  an  indispensable  condition. 
Many  thousands  of  sufferers  have  been  reached  in  this  way.  Many 
a  life,  we  are  led  to  believe,  has  been  saved,  and  seeds  of  good 
have  been  disseminated  which  are  not  likely  to  be  wholly  wasted. 


42        HISTORICAL  SKETCHES   OF   ETHICAL  SOCIETIES. 
MATTERS    EXTERNAL. 

The  number  of  enrolled  members  of  the  New  York  Society  is, 
at  present,  about  800.  As  many  of  these  are  heads  of  families, 
the  actual  number  of  persons  affiliated  with  the  Society  is  much 
larger.  The  educational  and  charitable  work  is  chiefly  carried 
on  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  Relief  Works,  an  association 
which  has  a  legal  existence  of  its  own  distinct  from  that  of  the 
Society  for  Ethical  Culture.  But  the  two  associations  are  identical 
in  spirit  and  purpose ;  the  principal  workers  are  the  same,  and 
the  circle  from  which  their  support  is  derived  is  largely,  if  not 
entirely,  the  same.  It  is  fair,  therefore,  in  speaking  of  their 
resources,  to  class  them  together.  The  annual  budget  of  the 
Society  for  the  maintenance  of  its  platform  and  its  charities 
amounts  to  something  over  $50,000.  Of  this  $20,000  goes  to  the 
Society  proper  ;  $30,000  to  the  charities.  The  Society  possesses 
a  sinking  fund  of  between  $60,000  and  $70,000.  The  United 
Relief  Works  own  the  building  at  109  West  Fifty-fourth  street, 
in  which  the  school  is  carried  on.  In  addition,  the  sum  of 
$100,000  has  already  been  subscribed  toward  the  erection  of  a 
new  and  spacious  edifice,  in  which  it  is  proposed  that  all  the 
various  activities  of  the  Society  shall  be  united.  The  further 
prosecution  of  this  much-needed  enterprise  has  been  checked  by 
the  financial  depression  which  has  visited  the  United  States  during 
the  past  few  years.  But,  with  a  return  of  prosperity,  it  is  earn- 
estly hoped  that  the  plan,  which  is  suspended  for  the  moment, 
will  be  taken  up  with  new  vigor,  and  that  the  Society  will  secure 
a  home  worthy  of  the  place  which  it  now  occupies  in  the  com- 
munity, giving  free  room  for  the  expansion  of  those  energies 
which  are,  at  present,  cramped  and  impeded. 


The  Chicago  Ethical  Society. 

The  impulse  to  the  formation  of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture 
of  Chicago  was  given  by  addresses  on  ' '  The  True  Method  of 
Religious  Reform"  and  "Do  the  Ethics  of  Jesus  Satisfy  the 
Needs  of  Our  Time?"  by  Prof.  Felix  Adler  and  Mr.  W.  M. 


CHICAGO    ETHICAL   SOCIETY.  43 

Salter  respectively,  in  the  Grand  Opera  House,  Sunday  afternoon, 
October  ist,  1882.  Mr.  Salter  was  called  the  following  spring  to 
the  lectureship  of  the  Society  and  gave  his  opening  lecture  (on 
"The  Basis  of  the  Ethical  Movement")  on  Sunday  morning, 
April  ist,  to  about  sixty-five  people,  in  Hershey  Music  Hall.  On 
the  following  Sunday  a  Children's  Ethical  Class  was  started  with 
three  members.  A  Normal  Class  was  formed  for  the  training 
of  future  teachers  of  Ethical  Classes.  Steps  were  also  taken 
to  form  the  Relief  Works,  which  initiated  District  Nursing  for  the 
benefit  of  the  sick  poor  in  Chicago,  as  the  Relief  Works  of  the 
parent  Society  had  done  in  New  York.  (The  latter  work  gradu- 
ally extended  itself,  but  was  discontinued  after  two  years,  on  ac- 
count of  the  lack  of  co-operation  of  the  dispensaries  from  which 
the  nurses  received  their  cases.) 

In  1884-5  tf16  Sunday  lectures  were  held  in  Weber  Music  Hall. 
The  two  following  years  the  Society  met  in  Hershey  Music  Hall. 
In  the  autumn  of  1887  it  moved  to  the  Grand  Opera  House, 
where  it  has  continued  ever  since.  In  the  main  the  Society's 
work  prospered.  A  Ladies'  Charitable  Union  was  formed,  also 
a  Young  People's  Union,  and  a  Young  Men's  Club  for  the  study 
of  Philosophy  and  Social  Ethics.  Permanent  headquarters  were 
secured  for  week-day  meetings,  known  as  Emerson  Hall.  The 
one  small  Children's  Class  became  an  Ethical  School  of  sixty 
members.  The  Sunday  audiences  came  to  average  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  Reading  Circles  were  started  on  the  three  sides  of  the 
city  and  studied  in  particular  the  history  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion. Individual  members  started  enterprises  of  public  benefit, 
such  as  the  "  Economic  Conferences  between  Business  Men  and 
Workingmen,"  and  the  "Bureau  of  Justice,"  and  joined  in  the 
agitation  of  questions  of  popular  justice  (such  as  the  Eight- 
Hour  Question  and  the  execution  of  the  "Anarchists").  Ill 
health  compelled  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Salter  and  his  removal 
to  a  milder  climate,  after  nearly  nine  years  of  serv^pe — though  not 
without  having  secured  'an  assurance  of  the  willingness  of  Mr. 
M.  M.  Mangasarian  to  be  his  successor. 

Mr.  Mangasarian  gave  his  opening  lecture  (on  "The  New  Eth- 
ical Preacher")  February  7th,  1892.  The  Sunday  audiences  at 
the  Grand  Opera  House  to  listen  to  his  lectures  usually  fill  the 


44        HISTORICAL    SKETCHES    OF    ETHICAL    SOCIETIES. 

house  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  the  lectures  are  frequently  well 
reported  in  the  press  of  the  city  and  neighboring  towns. 

Regular  quarterly  meetings  are  held,  at  which  the  members 
discuss  matters  of  general  interest  to  the  Society  and  transact 
such  business  as  is  required,  after  which  the  remainder  of  the 
evening  is  given  to  social  intercourse. 

The  Social  Union  is  designed  to  encourage  social  intercourse 
among  the  members,  and  to  this  end  literary  and  musical  enter- 
tainments are  often  provided. 

The  active  work  of  the  Society  is  under  the  charge  of  special 
committees. 

Five  young  men  have  charge  of  the  publications,  and  distrib- 
ute the  literature  of  the  movement  at  the  Sunday  meetings. 

The  Economic  Section  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  Adult  Class  of 
the  Sunday  Ethical  School.  At  the  close  of  the  lecture  season  in 
1894  the  class  decided  to  continue  its  meetings  during  the  sum- 
mer, studying  social  conditions  and  discussing  current  social, 
political  and  economic  questions.  Addresses  were  made  by  the 
young  men  and  women  of  the  class,  and  the  attendance  contin- 
ually increased.  Many  new  members  were  brought  into  the 
Society  through  these  meetings.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  the 
Economic  Section  was  regularly  organized  and  meetings  were 
held  on  Sunday  evenings,  prominent  persons  in  local  public  life 
being  invited  to  speak.  Among  those  who  addressed  the  meet- 
ings were  Miss  Jane  Addams,  Mr.  Henry  D.  Lloyd,  Mr.  Hamlin 
Garland,  Mr.  J.  Keir  Hardie  of  Scotland,  Prof.  E.  W.  Bemis,  Rev. 
Carious  Martyn,  Judge  Lorin  C.  Collins,  Mr.  Thomas  J.  Morgan, 
Mr.  William  Hope  Harvey  (Coin's  Financial  School),  Mr.  Wil- 
liam M.  Salter,  and  many  others.  The  aim  of  this  Section  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  words  of  Prof.  Adler,  printed  at  the  head  of  each 
program,  "  Be  it  ours  to  lift  the  fallen,  to  lend  free  utterance  to 
the  complaints  of  the  oppressed,  to  brand  the  social  iniquities  of 
our  time,  and  to  give  our  hearts'  warmth  and  the  labor  of  our 
hands  to  the  cause  of  their  redress."  The  Economic  Section  is 
already  a  recognized  influence  in  the  city. 

The  Ladies'  Union  is  organized  to  prepare  garments  for  the 
sick  poor  and  maintain  a  visiting  nurse. 

The  Sunday  Ethical  School,  which  has  always  been  a  promi- 


PHILADELPHIA    ETHICAL    SOCIETY.  45 

nent  feature  of  the  Society,  follows  a  course  of  study  that  has 
been  gradually  developed  and  has  some  features  that  originated 
in  Chicago.  Prof.  Adler's  "The  Moral  Instruction  of  Children  " 
has  been  found  helpful  in  perfecting  the  course.  The  School  is 
divided  into  eight  grades.  The  children  of  the  first  grade  (during 
most  of  the  year  divided  into  two  classes)  are  taught  by  means 
of  fables  and  fairy  tales.  The  second  grade,  composed  of  chil- 
dren eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  have  selected  stories  from  the 
Old  Testament.  '  The  Greek  heroes  and  Homer  furnish  the  ma- 
terial for  the  work  of  the  third  grade.  The  pupils  of  the  next 
year  have  been  taking  up  the  "Beginnings"  of  the  earth,  of 
animals  and  plants,  of  mankind,  of  society,  religions,  etc.  Se- 
lected biographies  have  been  the  subject  of  the  work  of  the  fifth 
grade.  In  the  sixth  year  the  pupils  take  up  systematically  a 
study  of  the  various  duties  of  life.  The  two  higher  classes  have 
been  studying  the  lives  of  the  great  religious  and  moral  teachers, 
one  class  spending  the  entire  year  on  the  life  of  Jesus,  the  other 
dividing  the  time  between  Buddha  and  Socrates.  The  enroll- 
ment of  the  different  classes  varies  from  six  or  seven  to  nearly 
twenty.  Many  of  the  pupils  come  long  distances — those  from 
several  families  as  far  as  eight  miles.  The  School  is  opened  by 
twenty  or  thirty  minutes  of  singing,  under  the  direction  of  a 
skillful  leader,  accompanied  by  a  short  talk  from  the  superin- 
tendent or  a  stanza  of  verse  repeated  by  one  of  the  children. 


The  Philadelphia  Ethical  Society. 
The  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  Philadelphia  was  organized 
June  ist,  1885.  The  circumstances  which  led  to  the  organization 
of  the  Philadelphia  Society  were  briefly  as  follows  :  During  the 
winter  1884-5  ^r-  S.  Burns  Weston,  then  studying  and  working 
with  Professor  Adler  in  New  York,  visited  Philadelphia  to  see 
whether  an  Ethical  Society  could  be  organized  there.  A  few 
persons  interested  in  the  project  arranged  a  course  of  six  lectures, 
to  be  given  on  Sunday  mornings  in  the  spring  of  1885,  explain- 
ing the  ideas  and  aims  of  the  Ethical  Movement.  The  course 
was  opened  April  5th,  the  first  four  lectures  being  given  by 


46        HISTORICAL   SKETCHES   OF   ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

Mr.  Weston,  the  fifth  by  Mr.  William  M.  Salter — at  that  time  the 
lecturer  for  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  Chicago — and  the 
closing  lecture  by  Prof.  Felix  Adler.  This  resulted  in  twenty-four 
persons  coming  together  on  June  1st  and  organizing  themselves 
into  "The  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  Philadelphia." 

The  Society  started  out  with  having  women  represented  on  its 
Board  of  Trustees,  a  policy  which  it  has  adhered  to  ever  since. 
The  Constitution  and  Statement  of  Principles  provided  for  the 
formation  of  Sections  of  various  kinds  for  the  Study,  discussion 
and  application  of  ethical  principles  in  the  special  departments 
of  life  which  each  section  should  represent.  The  Constitution 
also  provided  that  at  least  one-fourth  of  the  entire  income  of  the 
Society  should  be  devoted  to  philanthropic  work.  The  minimum 
annual  membership  dues  were  fixed  at  ten  dollars. 

The  regular  public  work  began  Sunday,  October  i8th,  1885,  at 
Natatorium  Hall,  with  a  lecture  by  Professor  Adler  and  a  short 
address  by  Mr.  Weston,  who  had  been  invited  to  become  the 
lecturer  of  the  Society.  A  Children's  Ethical  Class  was  immedi- 
ately started,  and  also  a  Business  Men's  Section  for  the  study  of 
business  ethics,  a  Household  Section  to  study  the  economics  and 
the  ethics  of  the  home,  and  a  Young  Men's  Section  to  discuss 
questions  of  special  interest  to  young  men.  The  Section  meet- 
ings were  held  regularly  and  gave  rise  to  many  interesting  papers 
and  discussions  by  the  members. 

Only  a  few  weeks  after  the  active  work  of  the  Society  began 
a  number  of  newsboys  and  bootblacks,  found  on  the  street  near 
Natatorium  Hall,  were  organized  (November,  1885)  into  a  Boys' 
Club,  which  met  Sunday  afternoons  and  week-day  evenings, 
various  kinds  of  amusements  and  instruction  being  provided. 
The  Clnb  increased  in  size,  a  larger  place  was  rented,  new  feat- 
ures were  added,  and  the  work  was  carried  successfully  along  for 
a  year  or  two  under  the  direct  auspices  of  the  Society.  In  order, 
however,  to  carry  on  the  work  on  a  much  larger  scale,  it  was 
finally  decided  to  hand  it  over  to  a  new  organization,  called  the 
Neighborhood  Guild  Association,  composed  of  prominent  citizens 
outside  of  the  Society,  whom  the  lecturer  had  invited  to  come 
together  for  this  purpose.  The  Boys'  Club  was  then  merged  into 
a  "Neighborhood  Guild,"  a  name  simultaneously  chosen  in  New 


PHILADELPHIA   ETHICAL    SOCIETY.  47 

York  and  Philadelphia  for  this  kind  of  social  work  among  the 
children  of  the  poor  in  the  two  cities.  Under  the  auspices  of 
the  Neighborhood  Guild  Association  the  work  assumed  larger 
proportions  and  was  carried  on  successfully  for  several  years, 
when  it  was  finally  merged  into  other  similar  organizations. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  steps  were 
also  taken  to  organize  a  day-school  with  an  educational  system 
similar  to  that  of  the  Workingman's  School  of  New  York.  "  The 
Ethical  School,"  as  it  was  called,  was  opened  with  a  kindergarten 
and  the  common  school  branches  in  the  autumn  of  1886,  in  a 
central  location,  a  house  having  been  rented  for  that  purpose. 
A  branch  school  was  soon  started  in  West  Philadelphia.  The 
teaching  in  both  schools  was  of  a  high  grade  from  the  first  and 
in  accordance  with  the  most  advanced  methods.  For  two  or 
three  years  both  schools  were  continued  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Society,  when  the  central  school,  not  being  self-supporting 
but  making  large  financial  demands  on  the  Society,  had  to  be 
discontinued.  The  West  Philadelphia  Branch  was  self-support- 
ing almost  from  the  first  and  has  had  a  successful  history,  being 
still  in  a  prosperous  condition.  It  is  no  longer,  however,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Ethical  Society,  its  entire  control.having  been 
handed  over  three  or  four  years  ago  to  the  able  principal  who 
has  been  at  its  head  almost  from  the  beginning,  and  who,  it  may 
be  added,  is  a  member  of  the  Ethical  Society. 

In  May,  1890,  Mr.  Weston  resigned  the  lectureship  of  the 
Society,  after  having  been  its  lecturer  for  five  years.  For  the 
first  four  years  the  lectures  were  held  in  Natatorium  Hall,  on 
South  Broad  street,  and  after  that  in  St.  George's  Hall,  on  Arch 
street,  where  they  were  continued  until  the  autumn  of  1892, 
since  which  time  they  have  been  held  in  New  Century  Hall,  124 
South  Twelfth  street. 

After  Mr.  Weston' s  resignation  the  Society  was  without  a 
lecturer  for  about  a  year  and  a  half,  during  which  time  various 
people  were  invited  to  occupy  the  platform  from  Sunday  to  Sun- 
day. One  miscellaneous  section  continued  weekly  meetings  , 
and  an  adult  class  met  for  an  hour  before  the  Sunday  morning 
lecture.  At  this  time  the  Constitution  and  By-laws  were  entirely 
revised  and  the  clause  in  regard  to  minimum  annual  dues  of  ten 


II 


48        HISTORICAL   SKETCHES    OF    ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

dollars  was  abolished,  each  one  being  expected  to  contribute  ac- 
cording to  his  ability.  In  place  of  the  long  Statement  of  Princi- 
ples, drawn  up  when  the  Society  was  organized,  this  brief  state- 
ment (taken  from  the  Constitution  of  the  American  Ethical  Union) 
was  adopted  : 

"  The  General  Aim  of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  Philadelphia 
is  the  elevation  of  the  moral  life  of  its  members  and  that  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  it  welcomes  to  its  fellowship  all  who  sympathize  with  this  aim, 
whatever  may  be  their  theological  or  philosophical  opinions." 

In  February,  1892,  Mr.  William  M.  Salter,  formerly  the  lec- 
turer of  the  Chicago  Society,  assumed  the  lectureship  of  the 
Philadelphia  Society.  Under  his  leadership  the  Society  has 
grown  steadily  stronger  internally,  and  a  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  new  members  have  joined. 

The  Section  work  has  been  entirely  reorganized  and  extended, 
and  its  various  meetings  are  now  an  important  feature  of  the 
Society's  work.  There  are  at  present  the  following  Sections  : 
Reform  Section,  Economic  Section,  Literature  and  Art  Section, 
Philosophical  Section,  and  a  Women's  Section.  There  is  also  a 
Young  People's  Club  and  a  Young  Men's  Union.  The  Reform 
Section  was  organized  for  practical  work,  and  its  first  efforts  have 
been  directed  towards  forming  a  consumers'  League,  and  it  is 
also  interesting  itself  in  forming  unions  among  the  working 
women  and  girls  of  Philadelphia. 

In  the  Sunday  Ethical  School  the  Adult  Classes  continue  as 
before,  and  there  are  now  five  other  classes  studying  respectively 
Politics,  Greek  Literature,  Personal  Duties,  Fables,  and  Fairy 
Tales  and  Nature  Lessons.  The  Ethical  School  was  never  in  so 
good  a  condition. 

The  Society  has  had  three  hundred  and  fifty-six  names  enrolled 
on  its  membership  list  since  it  was  organized.  Owing  to  a  con- 
troversy in  1894,  which  involved  the  issue  as  to  whether  the 
Society  had  any  moral  standard  or  was  simply  a  Society  for 
ethical  study  and  discussion,  twenty-six  members  withdrew  after 
the  annual  meeting  of  that  year. 

For  the  past  two  years  the  Society  has  had  rooms  at  1 305  Arch 
street,  where  an  Ethical  Library  and  Reading  Room  has  been 
started,  which  is  open  to  the  general  public  at  stated  hours. 


ST.    LOUIS    ETHICAL    SOCIETY.  49 

In  1888  the  Philadelphia  Society  began  the  publication  of  the 
first  official  organ  of  the  Societies  for  Ethical  Culture,  a  quarterly, 
called  The  Ethical  Record.  The  publication  was  continued  for 
two  years  and  a  half,  when  it  was  succeeded,  in  October,  1890, 
by  the  International  Journal  of  Ethics,  which,  though  not  the 
official  organ  of  the  Ethical  Societies,  owes  its  origin  and  main 
support  to  them.  The  publication  of  Ethical  Addresses,  issued 
monthly  with  the  exception  of  July  and  August,  was  begun  in 
January,  1894. 

In  January,  1895,  Mr.  Salter  began  a  monthly  publication, 
The  Cause,  which  is  "  Devoted  to  Moral  Progress  and  the  Inter- 
ests of  the  Society  for  Ethical  Culture  of  Philadeldhia."  This  is 
an  eight  page  publication,  which,  besides  giving  a  full  account  of 
the  work  going  on  in  the  Philadelphia  Society,  contains  interest- 
ing reports  of  the  progress  of  the  movement  in  other  places. 
It  is  distributed  free  at  the  Sunday  meetings  of  the  Society,  and 
is  manily  supported  by  voluntary  contributions. 

Mr.  Salter  organized,  in  January,  1895,  an  Ethical  Society  in 
Kensington,  an  extensive  manufacturing  district  in  the  northeast 
of  Philadelphia.  Meetings  have  been  regularly  held  during  the 
lecture  season  on  Sunday  evenings,  and  are  attended  for  the  most 
part  by  workingmen. 


The  St.   Louis  Ethical  Society. 

In  the  spring  of  1886  Mr.  Sheldon  was  invited  by  a  committee 
to  give  a  course  of  three  lectures  in  the  hall  connected  with  the 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  This  was  the  beginning  which  led  to  the 
organization  of  the  Society  the  ensuing  fall  when  Mr.  Sheldon 
was  chosen  lecturer,  a  position  which  he  has  now  held  for  ten 
years.  Every  season  there  has  been  a  regular  series  of  lectures 
given  at  Memorial  Hall.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  enlist  all 
classes  of  people  in  the  great  ethical  problems  of  the  day,  and 
educational  work  along  ethical  lines  has  been  started  in  different 
parts  of  the  city.  The  Society  is  therefore  in  part  supported  by- 
iflnrfh* 


persons  who  value  it  torgj,lifi_£pod  it  does  for  St.  Louis.     It  ha 
beeri~tfra  way  like  an  '"  Ethical  Institute"  for  the  city? 


50       HISTORICAL  SKETCHES   OF   ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

Among  those  who  have  spoken  on  Sunday  morning  at  Memo- 
rial Hall,  besides  the  regular  lecturer,  have  been  several  leading 
educators  of  the  United  States  or  men  occupying  professional 
chairs  at  the  various  universities,  such  as  Prof.  Josiah  Royce  and 
Prof.  F.  Taussig  of  Harvard  University,  Prof.  Paul  Shorey  and 
Prof.  J.  Lawrence  Laughlin  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  as  well 
as  all  the  lecturers  of  the  other  Ethical  Societies. 

The  most  important  practical  educational  work  started  by  the 
Society  in  St.  Louis  has  been  a  movement  for  providing  opportu- 
nities for  general  self-culture  among  workingmen  and  their  fam- 
ilies. The  first  step  taken  was  to  open  some  free  reading  rooms. 
Then  a  course  of  lectures  was  given  on  Friday  evenings.  The 
movement  spread  elsewhere  in  St.  Louis,  and  a  second  branch 
was  opened  on  the  South  Side  of  the  city.  A  year  or  two  ago  a 
third  branch  was  started  in  a  new  manufacturing  center  known  as 
Tower  Grove.  The  basis  of  this  educational  work  was  to  be  the 
principle  of  strict  neutrality  on  matters  pertaining  to  religion. 
This  institution  has  been  steadily  advancing  until  it  now  occupies 
two  entire  buildings  in  different  portions  of  the  city.  Five  lecture 
courses  are  going  on  every  week,  with  classes  in  "Cooking," 
"Dressmaking,"  "Civil  Government,"  "Elocution,"  "Litera- 
ture" and  other  subjects.  Those  who  attend  are  members  of 
the  "young  men's  clubs"  and  "  young  women's  clubs,"  each  of 
which  has  its  separate  lecture  courses. 

Some  of  the  lectures  are  arranged  in  series.  For  instance, 
there  has  been  one  course  on  "Natural  Science,"  a  second  on 
"Architecture,"  a  third  on  "Biographies  of  great  Men,"  and  a 
fourth  on  "Biographies  of  great  Women."  Nearly  all  of  the 
leading  educators  of  the  city  have  co-operated  in  this  work  :  there 
having  been  seventy  or  eighty  different  lecturers  last  season,  in- 
cluding eight  or  ten  of  the  leading  clergymen  of  the  city,  from 
the  Baptist,  Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  Unitarian  and 
Jewish  churches,  and  also  about  an  equal  number  of  the  fore- 
most lawyers  of  the  city,  including  Gen.  John  W.  Noble,  who 
was  Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  President  Harrison  ;  several 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  the  city,  a  number  of  the  leading 
physicians,  several  of  the  professors  of  the  Washington  Univer- 
sity, ten  or  twelve  members  of  the  Wednesday  Club,  a  member 


ST.    LOUIS   ETHICAL  SOCIETY.  51 

of  Congress  from  this  city,  and  others.  The  attendance  is  usually 
very  good.  The  clubs  are  known  as  ' '  Wage-Earners'  Self-Culture 
Clubs." 

One  conspicuous  feature  in  this  undertaking  has  been  what  is 
known  as  "Domestic  Economy  Schools."  They  are  intended 
to  teach  young  girls  the  elements  of  knowledge  essential  in  the 
care  of  a  home.  These  classes  meet  on  Saturday  forenoon  and 
afternoon  and  have  been  remarkably  successful. 

This  branch  of  work,  including  the  ' '  Domestic  Economy 
Schools"  and  the  "Wage-Earners'  Self-Culture  Clubs,"  became 
so  important  that  it  was  finally  separated  from  the  Ethical  Society 
and  made  an  independent  corporation,  the  only  connection  with 
the  Society  being  that  the  lecturer  still  has  general  charge  of  the 
educational  work  of  this  institution.  He  has,  however,  an  as- 
sistant, who  resides  at  one  of  the  Self-Culture  Halls  and  devotes 
nearly  all  of  his  time  to  the  work.  The  Domestic  Economy 
Schools  have  been  developed  through  the  devoted  efforts  of  a 
corps  of  ladies  interested  in  this  special  phase  of  education. 

Another  interesting  educational  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Ethical 
Society  has  been  a  series  of  courses  of  "  Sunday  Afternoon  Pop- 
ular Science  Lectures,"  given  at  one  of  the  down-town  theaters 
during  the  winter  months,  or  at  the  entertainment  hall  of  the 
Exposition  Building.  The  first  series  was  given  by  residents  of 
St.  Louis.  The  last  two  years  the  lectures  have  been  given  by 
eminent  scientists  from  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  Pro- 
fessor E.  D.  Cope  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  gave  one 
on  "Fishes;"  Prof.  F.  M.  Chapman  of  the  American  Aca- 
demy of  Natural  Sciences,  gave  one  on  "Birds;"  Prof.  L.  O. 
Howard,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington,  one  on 
"Insects;"  Prof.  Angelo  Heilprin  has  given  one  on  "  Ice  and 
Glaciers"  and  another  on  "  Explorations  in  the  Arctic  Regions." 
A  small  admission  fee  was  charged  at  these  lectures  which  has 
just  covered  the  expenses.  The  attendance  has  been  usually 
quite  large,  ranging  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  people  at 
nearly  every  lecture. 

The  Ethical  Society  has  also  tried  to  start  general  educational 
work  in  special  sections  of  St.  Louis,  where  such  work  seems  to 
be  neglected.  During  the  last  two  years  courses  of  lectures  have 


52       HISTORICAL   SKETCHES   OF   ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

been  given  in  North  St.  Louis  on  "American  History  "  by  pro- 
fessors of  the  Washington  University  ;  also  by  several  other  lead- 
ing educators  of  the  city.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been 
active  work  for  educational  purposes  on  subjects  directly  ethical 
in  character.  Five  years  ago  a  club  was  organized  among  the 
women  of  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  studying  "Applied  Ethics," 
taking  up  the  work  historically.  They  began  the  first  year  with 
a  study  of  ' '  Greek  Ethics. ' '  The  second  year  was  devoted  to 
the  "  Ethics  of  Rome  ;  "  the  third  year  to  the  "  Renaissance  ;  " 
the  fourth  year  to  the  "  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  Centuries  ;  " 
and  this  last  season  has  been  given  to  a  study  of  the  ' '  Modern 
Poets."  While  the  club  has  been  directly  in  charge  of  the 
Ethical  Society,  it  has  been  attended  by  people  of  the  most  widely 
divergent  views.  Roman  Catholics,  Presbyterians,  Unitarians, 
etc.  attend  the  meetings  and  join  in  the  discussions.  The  name 
of  the  organization  was  taken  from  the  first  year's  work.  It  has 
therefore  been  known  as  the  "  Greek  Ethics  Club." 

Another  educational  work  was  organized  for  young  men  to 
meet  fortnightly  Wednesday  evenings — being  known  as  the 
"  Political  Science  Club."  The  intention  was  to  encourage  young 
men  to  study  the  problems  of  Social  and  Political  Science  instead 
of  giving  so  much  time  to  mere  discussion.  They  began  found- 
ing a  small  library,  getting  the  standard  or  classical  works  on 
these  subjects,  and  subscribing  for  the  leading  quarterlies.  The 
first  year  they  had  a  course  of  lectures  on  ' '  Political  Economy  ; ' ' 
the  second  year  a  series  of  talks  on  the  ' '  Duties  of  Public 
Officers."  "The  work  of  a  State  Governor"  was  described  by 
a  recent  Governor  of  Missouri.  "The  work  of  a  Cabinet  Offi- 
cer" was  described  by  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  under  President 
Harrison.  The  Mayor  of  St.  Louis  gave  a  talk  on  the  "  Duties 
and  Work  of  a  City  Mayor."  Another  talk  was  on  the  "Work 
of  a  Minister  to  a  Foreign  Country,"  by  a  citizen  of  St.  Louis, 
who  had  been  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  Switzerland. 
They  have  also  had  a  series  of  talks  on  Commercial  Institutions. 
A  description  of  a  "Board  of  Trade"  was  given  by  a  former 
president  of  the  Merchants'  Exchange  of  St.  Louis.  The  "  Bank- 
ing System  "  was  described  by  a  prominent  banker  of  the  city. 
"A  Great  City  Post  Office  "  was  portrayed  by  the  City  Postmaster. 


EUROPEAN    ETHICAL    SOCIETIES.  53 

They  have  also  had  three  talks  on  the  "Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States, ' '  by  one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  the  West. 

The  Ethical  Society  has  Children's  Classes,  meeting  on  Sunday 
morning,  similar  to  those  held  in  other  cities.  At  the  close  of 
ten  years'  work  of  the  St.  Louis  Ethical  Society  an  Ethical  Con- 
gress was  held,  including  also  a  Convention  of  all  the  Ethical 
Societies  of  America. 


The  Ethical   Movement  in  Germany,  Austria  and 
Switzerland. 

The  most  decisive  impulse  toward  the  formation  of  Ethical 
Societies  in  Germany  was  that  given  by  the  lectures  of  Prof. 
Adler  in  the  spring  of  1892,  previous  to  which  a  stimulus  in  the 
same  spirit  had  come  from  Oberstleutenant  von  Egidy.  The 
translation  and  dissemination  of  the  writings  of  Messrs.  Salter, 
Adler  and  Coit  by  Prof,  von  Gizycki  of  the  University  of  Berlin 
had  also  served  to  prepare  the  soil  for  the  growth  of  the  Ethical 
Movement. 

The  German  Ethical  Society  was  incorporated  at  Berlin  in  Oc- 
tober, 1892,  admitting  five  hundred  members  within  a  few 
months.  At  present  the  Society  includes  nine  branches,  so 
called,  namely,  those  of  Berlin,  Breslau,  Frankfort,  Freiburg, 
Konigsberg,  Magdeburg,  Miinchen,  Strassburg  and  Ulm.  There 
are  also  five  smaller  divisions  at  Karlsruhe,  Kiel,  Miihlhausen, 
Nauen  and  Nordhausen.  Besides  these,  two  larger  Societies,  at 
Leipzig  and  Jena,  belong  to  the  Movement,  but  owing  to  local 
conditions  have  not  yet  joined  the  larger  organization.  Thus 
there  are  sixteen  Societies  in  the  various  parts  of  Germany.  The 
Berlin  branch,  with  four  subdivisions,  counts  about  nine  hundred 
members.  The  others  average  each  about  ninety  members ; 
Jena  and  Leipzig  together  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  so  that 
the  total  membership  of  all  the  Ethical  Societies  in  Germany  at 
present  may  be  estimated  at  about  eighteen  hundred. 

The  work  of  these  Societies  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : 

I.  Mutual  intellectual  aid  and  stimulus  by  means  of  lectures 
and  discussions  on  subjects  of  pedagogical,  ethical  and  sociolog- 
ico-ethical  interest. 


54        HISTORICAL    SKETCHES    OF    ETHICAL   SOCIETIES. 

2.  The  dissemination  of  literature  on  the  same  questions. 

3.  Arranging  lectures  and  courses  of  lectures  for  the  public,  in 
order  to  give  special  prominence  to  ethical  and  political  teachings. 

4.  Efforts  to  influence  the  press  by  means  of  letters  on  ethical 
subjects. 

5.  Collecting  and   classifying  data   and  material  concerning 
matters  of  jurisprudence  and  penology. 

6.  Establishing  of  bureaux  to  aid  those  who  are  in  need  of 
work,  of  advice  or  material  aid,  combined  with  study  of  statistics 
in  the  care  of  the  poor. 

7.  Founding  of  free  public  libraries  and  reading  rooms. 

8.  Increasing  opportunities  for  all  classes  to  enjoy  art. 

9.  Co-operation  in  the  settlement  and  arbitration  of  strikes. 
Increase  in  the  membership  of  the  Societies  as  a  rule  is  a 

matter  of  slow  growth.  Far  more  marked  in  its  influence  seem 
to  be  the  resulting  ethical  discussion  and  treatment  of  pedagogical 
and  social  questions,  as  shown  partly  in  the  growth  and  increas- 
ing influence  of  its  weekly  organ — Ethische  Kultur.  This  paper 
was  started  in  1893  by  the  chief  founder  of  the  Ethical  Society, 
the  late  Prof.  G.  von  Giyzcki  of  Germany.  It  is  at  present  ed- 
ited by  Dr.  F.  W.  Foerster. 


In  Austria  the  first  Ethical  Society  was  founded  at  Vienna  in 
the  beginning  of  1895.  The  present  membership  is  about  three 
hundred.  The  work  of  the  Society  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Ger- 
man Society  as  detailed  above. 


In  Switzerland  the  first  Ethical  Society  was  founded  in  the 
latter  part  of  1895.  Its  work  is  closely  allied  to  that  of  the  other 
Societies.  Its  membership  is  about  eighty. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  RECENT   CONGRESS   OF  AMERI- 
CAN AND  EUROPEAN  ETHICAL 
SOCIETIES  AT  ZURICH. * 

BY    FELIX    ADLER. 

LIGHT  is  the  symbol  of  life.  There  is  ever  a  cheer- 
ing quality  in  it,  whether  we  see  it  in  a  landscape  or  in 
a  room  ;  but  there  are  occasions  when  the  benignity  of 
the  light  comes  home  to  us  with  a  peculiarly  satisfying 
completeness.  One  such  occasion  is  especially  present 
in  my  mind  at  this  moment :  We  have  been  traversing 
the  sea ;  we  are  about  to  emerge  from  the  waste  of 
waters ;  we  approach  the  land ;  but  the  moment  is  an 
anxious  one,  for  the  night  is  dark  and  the  coast  is  girt 
with  dangerous  reefs  and  rocks.  Suddenly,  as  we  peer 
into  the  darkness,  a  beacon  light  flashes  ahead  ;  it  shows 
but  for  a  moment  and  disappears  ;  it  waxes  and  then  it 
wanes,  and  then  as  we  get  nearer  it  grows  and  grows 
until  it  seems  to  fill  the  eye,  and  through  the  eye  the 
soul,  with  its  flood  of  splendor.  Ah,  how  we  realize 
at  such  a  moment  the  benignity  of  the  light !  How- 
grateful  we  are  for  the  friendliness  of  man  !  At  great 
cost  and  often  at  the  risk  of  life,  have  these  watch-towers 
been  placed  on  the  fringes  of  continents  to  warn  men 
of  the  dangers  which  they  must  avoid  and  to  indicate 
the  port  of  safety  to  which  they  must  steer. 

*An  Address  given  at  Carnegie  Hall,  New  York,  Sunday,  Oct.   18,  1896. 

(55) 


56  THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

So,  too,  in  the  moral  world  watch-towers  have  been 
erected  to  warn  us  of  the  dangers  to  be  avoided  and 
to  indicate  the  port  of  safety  to  which  we  must  steer. 
From  of  old  Christianity  and  indeed  all  the  religions 
of  the  past  have  been  busy  raising  these  towers ;  but 
many  of  them  are  crumbling  into  decay ;  and  new 
rocks,  new  reefs,  new  points  of  danger  have  been  dis- 
covered of  which  the  religions  of  the  past  have  never 
given  us  warning  and  which  are  now  becoming  the  scene 
and  the  cause  of  frequent  disaster.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
the  Ethical  Movement  to  help  to  repair  these  crumbling 
towers  and  to  place  beacons  on  those  dangerous  rocks 
which  have  heretofore  escaped  notice.  And  that  the 
importance  of  this  purpose  is  being  recognized  not  only 
in  our  own  community  but  also  abroad  in  foreign  coun- 
tries among  persons  who  live  in  an  environment  totally 
different  from  ours,  is  a  fact  that  marks  a  significant  step 
in  the  advance  of  our  cause.  I  wish  to-day  to  report  to 
you  concerning  the  recent  Congress  of  Ethical  Societies 
at  Zurich,  in  which  this  community  of  interest  and  of 
purpose  became  manifest  despite  great  differences. 

The  countries  represented  at  the  Congress,  besides 
the  United  States  and  England,  were  Germany,  Austria, 
Italy  and  Switzerland.  The  conferences  were  preceded 
by  courses  of  lectures  on  ethical  subjects  by  eminent 
ethical  professors  ;  and  at  these  lecture  courses  the 
French  government  was  officially  represented  by  two 
delegates,  the  Minister  of  Education  having  deputed 
them  to  report  especially  upon  the  degree  to  which  the 
Ethical  Societies  have  succeeded  in  devising  a  course  of 
ethical  instruction  for  children,  a  subject  in  which  the 
French  Republic  has  a  notable  interest. 


THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL  CONGRESS.  57 

Now  Germany,  of  all  these  countries,  is  the  one  where 
the  Ethical  Movement  has  obtained,  till  now,  the  largest 
extension  ;  the  number  of  societies  is  considerable  ;  they 
are  planted  in  all  the  chief  cities  of  the  Empire.  And 
this  is  all  the  more  interesting  when  we  remember  that 
the  entire  movement  in  Europe  is  only  four  years  old, 
apart  from  England.  The  fact  that  there  are  now  these 
numerous  societies  in  Germany,  that  there  is  at  least  one 
strong  society  in  Vienna,  and  that,  as  I  shall  show  you 
presently,  the  movement  is  spreading  to  Italy  and  Switz- 
erland, indicates  that  there  is  something  in  the  idea  for 
which  the  Ethical  Movement  stands  that  appeals  to 
people  irrespective  of  nationality,  irrespective  of  local 
conditions. 

I  should  like  first  to  say  something  about  the  prepa- 
ration which  existed  in  Germany  for  the  reception  of  the 
idea  for  which  this  movement  stands.  Germany  has 
been  a  very  religious  country.  The  German  people  have 
been  profoundly  susceptible  to  religious  influence.  The 
Protestant  Reformation,  as  we  all  know,  originated  in 
Germany,  and  as  late  as  the  last  century  we  find  that  the 
thinkers  and  the  men  of  science  were  still  on  the  side  of 
positive  religion.  Even  Kant,  who  shattered  the  tradi- 
tional proofs  of  the  existence  of  a  Deity,  nevertheless 
made  a  place  in  his  system  for  the  belief  in  a  personal 
God.  Now  within  a  hundred  years  all  this  seems  to 
have  changed.  A  cold  breath  has  swept  over  Germany. 
Intellect  seems  to  be  no  longer  on  the  side  of  faith. 
The  highly  educated  class  hold  aloof.  They  are  not 
actively  antagonistic  to  religion — they  are  indifferent  ; 
they  no  longer  lend  it  their  support.  Outwardly,  indeed, 
the  churches  maintain  their  preeminent  position  through 


58  THE    INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS. 

the  favor  of  the  government.  The  military  authorities 
show  their  respect  for  the  prevailing  opinions  ;  men  who 
take  high  rank  in  the  various  sciences  now  and  then  attend 
divine  service  ;  but  it  is  felt  that,  on  the  whole,  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  educated  elite  of  the  country  is  lacking.  Of 
course  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  Germany  has  ceased 
to  be  a  religious  country.  The  masses,  for  instance,  are 
still  very  powerfully  under  the  influence  of  religious  tradi- 
tions. I  shall  never  forget  a  scene  I  witnessed  four 
years  ago  at  Treve,  when  the  so-called  seamless  coat 
of  Christ,  which  is  exhibited  once  every  fifty  years, 
was  shown  to  the  people.  I  shall  never  forget  that 
scene  :  the  eager  multitudes,  especially  the  throng  of 
peasants  that  stood  in  the  streets  under  the  open 
skies  day  and  night,  waiting  for  a  chance  to  approach 
the  relic — singing,  chanting,  with  their  crosses,  their 
banners,  and  their  priests  leading  them.  I  could  not 
help  gathering  the  impression  that  religious  fanaticism, 
like  a  hot  bed  of  coals,  is  slumbering  under  white  ashes 
and  ready,  perhaps,  to  start  into  a  devouring  flame  at 
the  first  breath,  and  to  become  all  the  more  misguided 
and  dangerous  because  the  participation  of  the  educated 
classes  is  missing. 

When  a  country  is  thus  divided  into  two  classes, 
when  there  is  a  gulf  between  the  life  of  the  educated 
and  the  ignorant  masses,  both  will  suffer.  The  educated 
come  to  be  out  of  touch  with  the  common  life  and  the 
people  are  left  to  their  dense  and  dark  superstition. 

But  educated  Germany  has  not  been  without  some 
substitute  for  the  religious  impulse  which  during  the 
last  hundred  years  it  has  largely  lacked.  A  nation  whose 
emotional  life  is  so  profound  and  whose  intellectual  as- 


THE    INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS.  59 

pirations  are  so  high  does  not  easily  resign  itself  to  the 
loss  of  that  elevation  which  comes  from  the  pursuit  of 
idealistic  ends  ;  and  so  there  have  been  substitutes  for 
religion.  One  of  these  substitutes  has  been  the  idealism 
of  science.  I  mean  by  this  that  exaltation  which  is 
brought  into  the  life  of  the  person  who  devotes  himself 
to  the  pursuit  of  abstract  truth  for  truth's  sake,  without 
reference  to  its  utilitarian  applications  and  without 
any  thought  of  pecuniary  gain  for  himself.  Of  this 
priestly  consecration  to  abstract  truth  modern  Germany 
has  offered  many  great  examples.  And  if  man  were 
purely  an  intellectual  being,  if  he  could  withdraw  into  his 
intellectual  shell  and  ignore  the  emotional  and  moral 
interests,  this  idealism  of  abstract  truth  might  answer  the 
purpose.  But  man  is  not  a  purely  intellectual  being, 
and  the  longer  you  make  the  experiment  of  feeding  him 
on  a  merely  intellectual  idealism  the  more  will  the  other 
side  of  his  nature,  the  practical  and  the  emotional  side, 
rebel,  rise  in  mutiny  and  press  its  claims.  And  as 
science  has  very  little  to  offer  man  on  the  emotional 
side,  as  the  theories  which  prevail  in  modern  science 
(Darwinism,  for  instance,)  are  not  such  as  to  present  a 
reconciling  view  of  human  destiny,  as  after  all  it  is  but 
a  poor  outcome  of  the  effort  and  labor  required  in  pene- 
trating the  disguises  of  things  to  disover  behind  the 
scene  nothing  but  the  meaningless  play  of  atoms  ;  it  has 
come  to  pass  that  the  idealism  of  science  has  been  di- 
vested of  much  of  that  efficacy  which  at  one  time  was 
ascribed  to  it ;  and  it  is  perceived  by  many,  by  the  very 
ones  who  have  tried  to  live  on  intellectualism,  that  it 
does  not  satisfy. 

Then  another  substitute  has  been  what  in  German  is 


60  THE   INTERNATIONAL   ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

called  Pflichtgefuhl.  This  word  does  not  merely  mean 
doing  one's  duty ;  it  describes  a  peculiar  species  of  the 
sentiment  of  duty,  a  kind  of  military  promptness  in  an- 
swering the  calls  of  obligation,  especially  when  imposed 
by  superior  authority.  The  feeling,  it  seems  to  me, 
has  a  background  of  paternalism.  It  rests  on  reverence 
and  respect  for  the  constituted  rulers  of  the  land. 
It  has  been  generated,  I  take  it,  especially  in  the  mili- 
tary class  and  the  bureaucracy  and  from  them  has 
spread  among  the  people.  It  depends  for  its  mainte- 
nance on  confidence  in  the  authorities,  and  this  confi- 
dence in  Germany  has  been  considerably  shaken.  In 
place  of  satisfaction  and  the  quiet  spirit  of  obedience 
there  is  deep-seated,  far-reaching  political  and  social  dis- 
content. And  now  what  I  wish  to  say  is  that  it  is  this 
political  and  social  discontent,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  failure  of  physical  science  or  of  mere  intellectualism 
to  satisfy,  that  has  prepared  the  soil  for  the  Ethical 
Movement  in  Germany. 

There  are  some  restless,  impatient  spirits,  who  seek  to 
provide  a  remedy  for  the  political  and  social  evils  of 
Germany  by  sudden  and  comprehensive  social  changes ; 
and  it  is  to  tne  presence  of  this  class  of  persons  that 
the  spread  of  Socialism  and  its  poltical  strength  is 
due.  But  there  are  also  others  who  realize  that  sudden 
changes  cannot  be  permanent  and  who  look  to  a  re- 
newal of  moral  energy  in  the  different  classes  of  society 
as  the  indispensable  condition  of  achieving  lasting  and 
beneficient  results,  and  it  was  this  class  of  persons  who 
have  been  most  interested  in  the  Ethical  Movement 
and  most  earnest  in  propagating  it.  Thus  much  as  to 
the  preparation  for  the  movement  in  Germany.  And  let 


THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL  CONGRESS.  6 1 

me  merely  add  that  it  is  a  significant  fact,  in  view  of 
what  has  just  been  said  concerning  the  failure  of  mere 
intellectualism  ultimately  to  satisfy,  that  the  leader  of 
our  movement  in  Germany  is  a  man  of  science,  a  man 
who  occupies  a  high  position  in  his  own  department  of 
science,  but  who  profoundly  recognizes  the  need  of 
ethical  clarification  and  inspiration.  I  allude  of  course 
to  our  honored  friend  Prof.  Foerster.  The  support  of 
such  a  man  has  been  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  Ger- 
man Movement. 

And  now  to  speak  of  the  results  of  the  Congress, 
there  are  three  to  which  I  wish  to  call  attention.     First, 
the  creation  of  an  International  Secretaryship  which  is 
intended  to  be  a  means  of  binding  together  the  European 
societies  among  themselves  and  the  European  and  Amer- 
ican societies  respectively.     Dr.  Wilhelm  Foerster  has 
been  created  the  first  International  Secretary.     He  is 
the  son  of  Prof.  Foerster  to  whom  I  have  just  referred, 
and  the  editor  of  the  German  weekly  paper,  Ethische 
Kultur.     He  was  recently  arrested  and  condemned  on 
the  charge  of  I2se-inajest£  for  an  article  which  appeared 
in  his  paper,  and  was  confined  for  several  months  in  a 
fortress.      He  was  liberated  on  the  eve  of  the  assembling  | 
of  the  Congress  at  Zurich,  and  was  enabled  to  be  present  • 
at  our  opening  meeting.     He  intends,  as  I  understand,  \\ 
to  give  his  whole  life  to  the  propaganda  of  the  Ethical  U 
Movement. 

The  very  considerable  proportion  of  university  pro- 
fessors connected  with  the  societies  is  one  of  the  char- 
acteristic features  of  the  foreign  movement.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly a  source  of  strength,  but  also  a  source  of 
weakness ;  because  the  societies  must  depend  upon  such 


\ 
* 


I 


62  THE   INTERNATIONAL   ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

time  as  the  professors  can  spare  from  their  duties,  and 
because  the  university  teacher,  despite  his  most  perfect 
intentions,  is  not  able  to  come  into  such  immediate 
contact  with  the  feelings  of  the  people,  with  the  popular 
interests  and  sentiments,  as  is  desirable  in  the  leaders 
of  Ethical  Societies. 

To  speak,  therefore,  of  the  second  result  of  the  Con- 
gress, it  is  this  :  that  it  has  been  determined  to  endeavor 

o 

hereafter  to  follow  the  American  plan  (which  the  Ger- 
man Society  at  first  resisted,  fearing  that  a  new  ethical 
clergy,  as  they  said,  might  spring  up)  and  to  secure  the 
I  services  of  persons  who  will  give  their  whole  life  to  the 
I  movement.     In  other  words,  the  second  result  has  been 
•  the  decision  to  establish  on  neutral  ground,  in  Switzer- 
*  I  land,  a  college  for  the  training  of  ethical  leaders  and 
I  I  lecturers,  the  modest  beginning  of  which  is  to  be  made 
I  |  next  summer. 

.  *  Next,  as  to  the  work  that  has  been  heretofore  done 
by  the  foreign  societies  ;  and  this  will  give  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  speak  of  the  third,  and,  to  my  mind,  the  most 
valuable  and  important  result  of  the  Congress.  The 
work  done  by  the  foreign  societies  thus  far  has  consisted, 
in  the  first  place,  in  the  holding  of  meetings  for  the  dis- 
cussion and  explanation  of  the  principles  of  the  move- 
ment, especially  the  essential  principle  of  all,  viz.,  that 
morality  is  self-centered,  self-sustained,  founded  on 
human  nature,  and  independent  of  dogma,  creeds,  or 
philosophic  theories.  This  idea  is  constantly  being  con- 
sidered in  all  its  bearings  and  the  movement  is  being 
propagated  in  this  fashion.  But,  in  addition,  earnest 
attempts  have  been  made  to  testify  to  the  ethical  faith 
by  practical  philanthropy,,  The  ^German  Socie 


THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS.         •    6j 

identified   itself  especially  with  an    effort   to  influence 
public  opinion  through  the  press.     Whenever  there  is  at 
case  of  injustice ;  whenever,  through  the  prejudices  Q 
the  ruling  classes,  the  weak  seem  to  be  oppressed,  seeml^ 
to  be  at  a  disadvantage,  especially  in  the  courts,  it  is  one 
of  the  aims  of  the  Ethical  Society  to  call  attention  to- 
the  fact  and,  if  possible,  to  secure  a  remedy. 

Particular  interest  has  been  taken  by  the  societies  in 
the  establishment  of  free  reading  rooms.  Perhaps  we 
in  this  country  do  not  quite  realize  how  important  it 
was  to  take  such  steps  in  a  country  like  Germany,  where 
adequate  provision  in  this  direction  did  not  exist.  The 
Ethical  Society  has  rendered  considerable  service  in  the 
establishment  of  such  public  reading  rooms,  and  their 
efforts  have  been  recognized  and  sustained  by  the  muni- 
cipal authorities  of  Berlin. 

In  Austria  courses  of  lectures  have  been  delivered  to 
parents  on  the  proper  training  of  children.  And  a  very 
important  investigation  has  been  conducted  into  the 
conditions  of  female  labor  in  the  city  of  Vienna  Re- 
ports of  this  investigation  have  found  their  way  into 
the  newspapers  and  have  attracted  great  attention,  and 
the  results  of  the  investigation  will  be  published  in 
detail  this  fall. 

The  Swiss  Society  is  only  a  few  months  old  and  has- 
not  yet  determined  its  plans,  although  there  is  promise 
of  great  activity. 

The  Italian  Society  is  extremely  interesting  in  many 
ways.  I  hold  in  my  hands  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  A  Page 
from  the  History  of  Sociology ;  an  Account  of  the 
Society  for  Ethical  and  Social  Culture  of  Venice."  This 
is  the  most  important  of  the  Italian  Ethical  Societies, 


64  THE   INTERNATIONAL   ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

The  object  of  the  Society  is  to  unite  all  who  believe 
that  the  present  industrial  system  is  capable  of  modifica- 
tion in  the  direction  of  more  perfect  harmony  between 
.  the  social  classes.  It  seeks  to  unite  persons  of  different 
beliefs  and  different  opinions,  just  as  we  do,  and  men 
'whose  views  are  distinctly  and  widely  divergent  have 
in  fact  given  their  sanction  to  this  movement.  Here,  too, 
discussion  and  public  meetings  are  one  of  the  important 
instrumentalities  in  use.  The  Venetian  Society  was  no_ 
sooner  formed  than  it  addressed  itself  jo  the  task  of 
philanthropy.,,  and  the  first  scheme  proposed  and  at- 

^ t*^*0 

tempted  was  that  of  founding  an  asylum  or  shelter,  a 
place  for  the  amusement  and  instruction  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  working  people  during  the  hours  when  their 
parents  are  away  in  the  workshops  and  factories.  This 
attempt  to  benefit  the  children  was,  however,  vehe- 
mently denounced  by  the  clergy  of  Venice.  In  conse- 
quence a  number  of  ladies  who  belonged  to  the  com- 
mittee in  charge  resigned  and  the  enterprise  had  to  be 
abandoned. 

The  Society  then  determined  to  address  itself  to  the 
adult  working  people.     A  college  for  the   social  and 
ethical  culture  of  working  people  was  established,  the 
members  of  the  Ethical  Society  of  Venice  themselves 
being  the  teachers.     This  attempt  met  with  astonishing 
success.     The   school    was    opened   with    seven    adult 
pupils  ;  after  two  weeks  there  were  two  hundred  enrolled, 
1  and  after  four  weeks  there  were  four  hundred,  and  fur- 
jther  admittance  had   to  be    refused  owing  to  lack  of 
'  accommodation.     These  classes  are  continued  from  De- 
cember to   May,  and   in  the  summer   excursions   are 
arranged,  in  which  hundreds  of  working  people  take 


\ 


THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS.  65 

part,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  art  and  historic 
monuments  in  which  Venice  is  so  rich,  also  the  economic 
conditions,  and  the  public  institutions,  especially  the 
public  charitable  institutions. 

Now  all  this  is  very  laudable  and  very  interesting,  but 
it  did  seem  to  me  as  if  there  was  one  thing  lacking  in 
the  foreign  Ethical  Societies — or  at  least  if  not  lacking 
yet  not  sufficiently  pronounced  :  that  is,  the  spiritual  ele-_ 
ment.  I  do  not  mean  anything  mystical  when  I  use  the 
word  spiritual.  When  we  think  of  morality,  if  we  con- 
centrate our  attention  on  the  act,  on  the  external  part 
61  ^t,  fnen  we  are  not  spiritual ;  buF  if  we  care  chiefly 
for  the  Spirit  in  which  the  act  is  done,  then  we  take  the  ( 
spiritual  view.  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  spiritual  side, 
though  not  wanting  by  any  means  among  the  leaders — 
in  fact  it  was  beautifully  emphasized  by  some  of  the 
leaders — was  nevertheless  too  much  neglected  ;  asjf  the^ 
drift  weje  in  an  externa^  direction,  as  if  the  feeling  pre- 
vailed  that  the  ethical  society  exists  for  the  benefit  oT 
others.  I  have  always  felt  that  this  is  a  wrong  attitude 
to  take.  I  have  always  felt  that  an  ethical  society  should 
take  the  ground  that  it  exists  primarily  for  the  moral 
benefit  of  its  own  members.  It  is  in  this  way  that  I 
have  distinguished  in  my  mind  between  the  real  mem- 
'bers  and  the  quasi  members  of  an  ethical  society.  The 
real  member  of  an  ethical  society  is  the  person  who 
feels  that  he  has  not  yet — morally — finished  his  educa- 
tion ;  that  he  is  in  need  of  moral  development,  in  need 
of  help,  and  looks  upon  the  society  as  a  means  of  help- 
ing him  in  his  moral  development.  The  quasi  member 
is  the  person  who  merely  appreciates  the  society  in  so. 
far  as  it  is  doing  good  for  others^  He  is  no  real  mem- 


66  THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS. 

her  ;  at  best  only  an  ally,  an  associate.  Now  I  felt  that 
this  sort  of  external  feeling  prevails  to  a  considerable 
degree  in  the  foreign  societies  as  it  still  largely  exists  in. 
our  own^ 

^1  went  to  Zurich  to  stand  for  this  view,  and  in  the 
opening  address  to  the  Congress,  I  laid  the  main  stress 
upon  this  idea :  that  permanence  and  solidity  and  depth 
will  be  lacking  in  the  Ethical  Movement,  and  that  it 
will  not  deserve  to  succeed  unless  it  creates  in  its  midst 
a  new  spirit — unless  a  spirit  of  humility  be  cultivated 
among  its  own  members.  And  the  view  here  indicated 
met  with  the  readiest  response  and  has  been  expressed 
and  embodied  in  the  Program  which  the  delegates 
adopted,  as  its  very  first  paragraph,  and  has  been  made 
the  corner-stone  of  the  Ethical  Movement,  so  far  as  the 
delegates  who  went  to  Zurich  had  the  power  to  make 
it.  I  will  read  from  that  Program  : 

The  Delegates  of  the  first  International  Assembly  of  the  Fede- 
rated Societies  recommend  to  the  Federated  Societies  of  the 
various  countries  represented,  the  following  statement,  subject  to 
future  expansion  and  revision  : 

The  prime  aim  of  the  Ethical  Societies  is  to  be  of  advantage  to 
their  own  members.  The  better  moral  life  is  not  a  gift  which 
we  are  merely  to  confer  upon  others  ;  it  is  rather  a  difficult  prize 
which  we  are  to  try  with  unwearying  and  unceasing  effort  to 
secure  for  ourselves.  The  means  which  are  to  serve  to  this  end 
are :  first,  the  close  contact  into  which  our  associations  bring  us 
with  others  having  the  same  purpose  in  view  ;  second,  the  moral 
education  and  instruction  of  the  young  in  the  ethical  principles, 
which  in  their  foundations  are  independent  of  all  dogmatic  pre- 
supposition ;  third,  guidance  for  adults  in  the  task  of  moral  self- 
education. 

Furthermore,  the  Ethical  Societies  should  define  their  attitude 
toward  the  great  social  questions  of  the  present  day,  in  the  solu- 


THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS.  67 

•tion  of  which  the  part  to  be  played  by  the  moral  forces  of  society  * 
is  of  the  highest  significance. 

We  recognize  that  the  efforts  of  the  masses  of  the  people  to 
obtain  a  more  humane  existence,  imply  a  moral  aim  of  the  • 
greatest  importance,  and  we  consider  it  our  duty  to  second  these 
efforts  with  all  possible  earnestness  and  to  the  full  extent  of  our 
ability.  We  believe,  however,  that  the  evil  to  be  remedied  is 
not  only  the  material  need  of  the  poor,  but  that  an  evil  hardly 
less  serious  is  to  be  found  in  the  moral  need  which  exists 
among  the  wealthy,  who  are  often  deeply  imperiled  in  their 
moral  integrity  by  the  discords  in  which  the  defects  of  the  pres- 
ent industrial  system  involve  them. 

We  regard  resistance  to  wrong  and  oppression  as  a  sacred  duty,^ 
and  believe  that  under  existing  circumstances  conflict  is  still  indis- 
pensable as  a  means  of  clarifying  men's  ideas  of  right  and  of 
obtaining  better  conditions.  We  demand,  however,  that  the  con- 
flict be  carried  on  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  morality,  in  the 
interest  of  society  as  a  whole  and  with  a  constant  eye  to  the  final 
establishment  of  social  peace  as  the  supreme  consummation. 

We  expect  of  the  organs  of  the  Ethical  Federation  that  they 
will  endeavor  to  provide,  so  far  as  they  are  able,  intellectual 
armor  to  serve  in  the  social  struggle — by  this  we  mean  the  pub- 
lication of  careful  scientific  treatises,  which  shall  have  for  their 
object  to  ascertain  whether  the  positions  of  individualism  and 
socialism  are  not  susceptible  of  being  united  in  a  deeper  philos- 
ophy of  life  ;  further,  statistical  investigations  to  show  with  the 
impressiveness  of  facts  how  profoundly  our  present  conditions 
are  in  need  of  reform,  and  furthermore  to  see  to  it  that  the  re- 
sults thus  obtained  shall  be  spread  far  and  wide  so  that  the  pub- 
lic conscience  may  be  developed  in  the  direction  of  a  higher 
social  justice. 

We  leave  it  to  the  several  societies,  according  to  the  particular 
circumstances  of  the  countries  to  which  they  belong,  to  carry  out 
the  above  general  purpose  in  particular  ways  ;  but  we  especially 
call  upon  all  the  members  of  the  various  societies,  in  their  indi- 
vidual capacity,  to  promote  the  progressive  social  movement  of 
the  times  by  simplicity  in  the  conduct  of  life  and  by  the  display 
of  an  active  public  spirit. 


I 


68  THE   INTERNATIONAL   ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

We  recognize  the  institution  of  pure  monogamic  marriage  as 
a  priceless  possession  of  mankind,  indispensable  for  the  moral 
development  of  the  individual  and  for  the  permanent  existence 
of  civilization  ;  but  we  demand  that  the  monogamic  idea  shall 
express  itself  in  the  sentiments  and  practice  of  men  with  a  de- 
gree of  consistency  which  to  a  very  great  extent  is  still  wanting. 

We  demand  for  woman  opportunity  for  the  fullest  development 
of  her  mental  and  moral  personality,  and  realizing  that  her  per- 
sonality is  of  equal  worth  with  that  of  man,  we  pledge  ourselves, 
as  far  as  we  are  able,  to  secure  the  recognition  of  this  equality 
in  every  department  of  life. 

We  regard  especially  the  lot  of  female  wage  earners  in  in- 
dustrial establishments  and  in  personal  service  as  one  of  the 
most  grievous  evils  of  the  present  time,  and  we  will  use  such 
influence  as  we  possess  to  restore  to  all  classes  of  the  population 
the  conditions  upon  which  a  true  home  life  depends. 

We  regard  it  as  a  fundamental  task  of  modern  civilization  to 
give  back  to  the  educational  system  the  unity  which  it  has  in  a 
a  large  measure  lost,  and  to  replace  the  missing  key-stone  once 
supplied  by  dogmatic  teaching  in  schools  and  universities  by  set- 
ting up  a  common  ethical  purpose  as  the  aim  of  all  culture. 

We  heartily  appreciate  the  efforts  now  being  made  to  bring 
about  universal  peace  among  the  nations,  and  we  would  contrib- 
ute our  share  towards  the  success  of  these  efforts  by  inwardly 
overcoming  the  military  spirit,  by  endeavoring  to  counteract  the 
attraction  that  military  glory  exerts  on  the  minds  of  the  young, 
and  by  seeking  to  provide  that  the  ethically  valuable  elements 
which  the  military  system  contains  may  find  expression  in  nobler 
and  worthier  forms. 

Furthermore,  we  would  oppose  that  national  egotism  and  na- 
tional passion,  which  at  the  present  day  are  just  as  dangerous 
foes  of  peace  as  are  the  prejudices  and  interests  of  the  govern- 
ing classes  ;  and  in  times  of  excitement  and  of  political  hatred  we 
will  exert  ourselves  in  conjunction  with  others  who  think  as  we 
do,  to  compel  attention  to  the  voice  of  reason  and  of  conscience. 

We  ask  our  Ethical  Societies  not  only  to  direct  their  attention 
toward  the  outward  extension  of  the  movement,  but  to  devote 
their  utmost  energy  to  the  building  up  of  a  new  ideal  of  life, 


THE    INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS.  69 

which  shall  correspond  to  the  demands  of  enlightened  thinking, 
feeling  and  living,  confident  that  such  an  ideal  for  which  man- 
kind is  thirsting  will  in  the  end  be  of  equal  profit  to  all  classes 
and  to  all  nations. 

We  are  not  a  Pythagorean  society  ;  we  are  not  a  band 
of  stoics  ;  we  are  not  a  company  of  recluses  who  stand 
aloof  from  the  concerns  of  life.  We  recognize  that  we 
are  to  grapple  with  the  social  and  political  questions  of 
the  day,  because  only  by  endeavoring  to  lift  these  heavy 
weights  will  our  own  moral  fiber  become  strong  and 
firm.  But,  nevertheless,  our  moral  growth  is  still  the 
principal  aim.  We  can  grow  morally  only  in  so  far  as  we 
take  an  interest  in  the  moral  concerns  of  the  commu- 
nity. But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  true  and 
equally  to  be  emphasized  that,  so  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, we  shall  endeavor  to  solve  the  great  social 
questions,  the  great  public  questions,  by  changes  which 
we  effect  in  ourselves.  We  are  to  regenerate  society 
primarily  by  regenerating  the  one  individual  member  of 
society  for  whom  we  are  responsible. 

This  is  the  difference  between  an  ethical  society  and 
the  peace  societies,  the  social  reform  societies,  the  edu- 
cational societies  and  the  others — that  they  chiefly  lay 
stress  upon  what  the  government  ought  to  do  or  upon 
what  other  people  ought  to  do,  or  in  general  upon  how 
the  world  is  to  be  set  aright,  while  the  ethical  society, 
mindful  also  of  these  demands,  yet  lays  its  chief  stress 
upon  the  question,  What  am  I  to  do  ?  How  shall  I  set 
the  world  right  by  setting  myself  right  ?  And  this  note 
dominates  the  entire  Statement  of  Principles  which  I 
have  read. 

For  instance,  it  is  said  that  the  Ethical  Society  must 


70  THE   INTERNATIONAL   ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

take  an  interest  in  the  labor  question,  and  immediately 
we  are  asked  to  co-operate  in  the  social  movement  of 
the  time  by  leading  simple  lives.  The  material  distress 
of  the  poor  is  a  great  evil,  but  the  unease  of  conscience, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  we  enjoy  exceptional,  undeserved 
advantages,  is  also  a  great  evil  which  we  must  try  to 
remedy.  And  we  must  try  to  remedy  it,  not  by  blunt- 
ing our  moral  susceptibilities,  but  by  making  them  still 
more  keen. 

Again  the  platform  insists  upon  the  institution  of 
monogamic  marriage  as  a  priceless  possession,  and  it 
goes  on  to  tell  us  that  the  idea  of  monogamy  is  not  ex- 
pressed in  the  sentiment  and  practice  of  mankind  as  it 
.should  be  ;  whereby  is  meant  that  men  ought  to  be  faith- 
ful to  the  ideal  of  women  before  marriage  as  well  as  in 
I  marriage,  just  as  women,  conversely,  are  expected  to  be 
faithful  on  their  side. 

Even  where  mention  is  made  of  so  public  a  concern 
as  international  peace  we  are  yet  urged  to  contribute  to 
it  as  individuals  by  trying  to  counteract  the  attraction 
of  military  glory,  by  overcoming  that  hatred  of  foreigners 
to  which  we  are  all  liable,  and  by  stopping  at  this  source 
those  passions  which  lead  to  national  frenzy  and  inter- 
national war. 

I  have  come  back  with  fresh  inspiration  and  fresh 
confidence,  with  an  exhilarating  sense  of  a  wider  broth- 
erhood, with  the  feeling  that  though  oceans  roll  be- 
tween us,  and  the  barriers  of  speech  and  traditions  and 
sentiment  may  seem  to  separate  us,  yet  in  the  essential 
purpose  our  friends  abroad  and  we  are  one.  I  wish  I 
could  communicate  this  feeling  of  a  wider  union  to  you. 
It  would  possibly  have  gratified  your  pride  could  you 


THE    INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL   CONGRESS.  7 1 

have  listened  to  the  ample  and  generous  acknowledg- 
ments which  the  delegates  made  of  what  they  conceived 
to  be  their  indebtedness  to  the  American  Ethical  So- 
cieties. But  I  confess  that  a  feeling  very  unlike  that 
of  flattered  pride  was  uppermost  in  my  mind  as  I 
listened  to  those  words  of  recognition.  It  was  rather  a 
grave  and  heavy  sense  of  responsibility,  because  our 
foreign  friends  are  very  glad  to  hear  of  such  success  as 
you  have  met  with.  They  are  also  willing  to  learn  from 
your  example,  so  far  as  it  is  a  worthy  one, ;  but  they  are 
disposed  to  scrutinize  you  with  a  searching  carefulness 
such  as  possibly  you  have  no  conception  of;  because 
this  is  what  they  say  to  themselves  :  "  We  look  to  the 
ethical  idea  with  hope  ;  we  look  to  it  as  something  that 
is  to  be  a  means  of  salvation  in  the  midst  of  the  polit- 
ical and  social  whirlwinds  that  are  likely  to  sweep  over 
society  ;  we  look  to  it  with  hope,  but  we  want  to  see 
whether  it  is  worthy  of  our  confidence.  And,  how  are 
we  to  determine  ?  Why,  we  will  scrutinize  the  lives  of 
the  members  of  these  Ethical  Societies  in  America  The 
Ethical  Movement  has  existed  in  America  for  twenty 
years.  In  twenty  years  the  ethical  idea  must  have  taken 
root  and  borne  fruit.  What  are  the  fruits  which  it  has 
borne  ?  " 

What  are  the  ethical  fruits — not  how  large  are  the 
revenues  or  the  audiences  ?  but  what  are  the  fruits  that 
appear  in  the  life  of  the  Society  ?  Are  the  merchants 
of  the  Ethical  Society,  as  a  rule,  stricter  in  their  views 
than  their  competitors,  or  are  they  like  others — good, 
bad  and  indifferent  ?  Are  the  relations  between  masters 
and  men  characterized  by  a  keener  sense  of  right  and 
a  more  careful  considerateness,  and,  when  there  are 


72  THE   INTERNATIONAL    ETHICAL  CONGRESS. 

faults  on  one  side  or  the  other,  by  a  greater  charity  ? 
Are  our  children  educated  on  nobler  principles  and  in 
finer  ways  ? 

Oh,  my  friends,  let  us  at  least  try  to  be  able  to  meet 
these  questions. 


"B3 

\o 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


Series  9482 


A      000  ft  en  7 


